AN
HISTORICAL VIEW
OF THE
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS:
EXHIBITING
THEIR DISCOVERY, POPULATION, LANGUAGE,
GOVERNMENT, MANNERS, CUSTOMS,
PRODUCTIONS AND COMMERCE.
FROM THE SPANISH OF
Martinez de Zuñiga.
PUBLISHED AT MANILA, 1803.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
WITH
A NEW AND ACCURATE MAP OF THE ISLANDS,
FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.
TRANSLATED
BY JOHN MAVER, ESQ.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. ASPERNE, CORNHILL; AND NONAVILLE AND FELL, NEW BOND-STREET:
By T. Davison, Whitefriars.
1814.
CHAPTER I.
ANNO DOM. 1669.
The Administration of Don Manuel de Leon.
Don Manuel de Leon, the new Governor of these islands, took possession on the 24th of September, 1669. The first act of his government was to declare that Señor Bonifaz, who had been Governor ad interim, had not been duly authorized, and though he confiscated his goods, he did not succeed in his attempt to imprison him, as the moment he gave up his government, he retired to the convent of the Franciscans. The Governor found the commerce of Manila at a very low ebb, as there were only two ships which sailed from the island, one from Cavite, and another from Lampon, and there was very little doing in the commerce with China. To remedy this, he sent to Macao Captain Losada and the Jesuit Mesina to revive it, and by the prudence of these two, and the disinterestedness of the Governor, such an extended commercial intercourse took place not only with China, but with the adjacent coasts, that these islands were filled with goods, which was of course highly beneficial to the royal coffers. On the 11th of April, 1677, the Governor, while at the nuptial ceremony of the Oidor Coloma, was taken suddenly ill in the church, and being removed to a house on the river side close by, he expired the same day.
CHAPTER II.
ANNO DOM. 1678.
The Administration of Don Juan de Vargas.
Don Juan de Vargas took possession of his government the 21st of September, 1678, and began his administration with universal applause; but in a little time the passion of avarice effected a thorough transformation of his character: disputes between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities alone engaged the public attention during the whole period of his government.
CHAPTER III.
ANNO DOM. 1684.
The Administration of Don Gabriel de Curuzalegui.
Don Gabriel de Curuzalegui took possession of his government the 24th of August, 1684, and by his judgment and prudence, put an end to these disgraceful dissensions.
On the 27th of April, 1689, the Governor died, and was interred in the church of St. Augustine. He was a quiet and inoffensive man, and although he leaned too much to the side of the Archbishop in the ecclesiastical disputes which had occurred for some years previous, yet the court approved his conduct. On the 22d of December, the same year, the Archbishop died. Señor Abella succeeded to the Government ad interim, and during his Administration the Marquis of Villasierra, Don Fernando Valenzuela, terminated a political life as remarkable as any on record for the versatility of fortune which distinguished it. This nobleman was known by the name of Sylph, because he took the opportunity of one night entering the palace at Madrid, in a private manner, and relating to the Queen mother what was passing at court, by which means he gained her confidence, and became prime minister and grandee of Spain. Don Juan of Austria having persuaded his natural brother, Charles the Second, to send the Queen mother from Court, he ordered her to retire to Toledo; and by this fall of the Queen, Villasierra lost his popularity, was imprisoned, stripped of all his honours, and banished to the Philippines, 1679, where he was imprisoned in the fort of Cavite, and remained there till 1688, in which Don Juan of Austria died, and the Queen was restored to the favour of her son. On this occasion Villasierra was liberated; and after living some little time on charity near Manila, he embarked for New Spain, where (in Mexico) he died by the kick of a horse. Strange reverse of fortune this man had suffered! From the highest station in the court of Madrid, he was sunk to that of nearly absolute want. At Madrid he had filled the highest dignities, and most important political situations: he was banished to the Philippines, confined many years in a dungeon, restored again to his rank, and died as above related.
CHAPTER IV.
ANNO DOM. 1690.
The Administration of Don Fausto Cruzat y Gongora.
Don Fausto Cruzat y Gongora, of a distinguished family in Pampeluna, took possession of his government in 1690, with the accustomed pomp on these occasions. On his arrival, he found that the royal establishments were very badly administered, the superintending officers paying more attention to their own individual interests than to those of his Majesty, whose control was too remote to produce any salutary check on their proceedings. He set immediately about collecting the arrears of the annual tribute remaining due to the King, with which he re-built the Governor’s palace, enlarged the hall of the Royal Audience, and the offices of the auditors. Under these he established the respective prisons, and begun the royal store-houses.
In the year 1692, the ship Santo Christo de Burgos arrived, sailed the following year, and was never more heard of. In 1694, the galleon San Joseph, richly laden, was wrecked on the island of Luban in a severe storm, in which the ship, cargo, and four hundred people were lost.
In the Marianas, the Indians, with the soldiers of the fort, and the galley-slaves which came in the admiral’s ship which was wrecked there, all rose in rebellion. They had determined to murder all the Spaniards that were in the islands, and take possession of them; and which they would have executed, had not one of their party discovered the conspiracy, when a stop was effectually put to it by the valour and conduct of the Spaniards and friars. The Indians were compelled to confine themselves to the islands of Guajan, Rota, and Saypan, all of which have been since deserted.
From 1690 to 1701, ecclesiastical disputes solely occupied the public attention.
CHAPTER V.
ANNO DOM. 1701.
The Administration of Don Domingo Zabalburu.
Don Domingo Zabalburu took possession of his government on the 8th of September, 1701. He finished the royal magazines which had been begun by his predecessor, re-built the redoubt of San Antonio Abad, and repaired the fortification of Cavite, the inhabitants of Manila contributing with their accustomed generosity by presents for the purpose. At this time the Kings of Jolo and Mindanao had a serious misunderstanding, each requesting assistance from the Governor, which, however, he declined, knowing that by taking part with one, he exposed these islands to the enmity of the other. He sent the Jesuit Antonio de Borga to reestablish harmony between these two nations upon any justifiable ground, as war had been declared by Spain against the English and Dutch, and it was deemed necessary to maintain a respectable maritime force to defend these islands, and in particular to protect our galleons, exposed as they were in their voyage from New Spain, to be captured by the ships of these nations, as happened with the Rosario, which was attacked by two English ships among the islands of Nativity and Salagur, in December, 1704; but she compelled them to fly, and she pursued her voyage to Acapulco. The following year the galleon San Xaviar was wrecked, which was severely felt in Manila.
CHAPTER VI.
ANNO DOM. 1709.
The Administration of the Conde de Lizarraga.
Don Martin de Ursua y Arismendi Conde de Lizarraga took possession of his government on the 25th of August, 1709. His first care was to send out of the islands all those Chinese who had been hitherto in the habit of remaining annually after the departure of the junks, to the great prejudice of the Spaniards. The safety of the state required this step, and all were expelled except those who were mechanics, or in the service of the public. The indulgence granted to these, was ascribed to the advantage the Governor derived from the licences he issued for that purpose. This step taken by the Governor was of great service to the country, as the Chinese came into it on the pretext of cultivating the land, and on this ground were allowed to remain; but it was soon found that they were even less active than the Indians, and that for one who applied himself to agriculture, a thousand were dealers of different descriptions, and in this they were extremely expert. They adulterated the weights and measures, as well as the different articles of sugar, wax, and almost every other commodity, so as not to be easily discovered. They were all monopolizers, watching narrowly the wants of the inhabitants, and the demand for different articles of consumption, which they kept back until they rose to their price. All this they had long practised with impunity, as, by virtue of presents duly applied, they were able to secure powerful protectors; and although sometimes they were fined, they took care that, even on the very day the fine was exacted, they should be reimbursed by the advanced price they fixed on the very goods in question. By this means they became rich in a short time, and either remitting their money to China, or returning with it themselves, they thus defrauded the Philippines annually of immense wealth[1].
The Jesuits of Manila, in 1696, had made an attempt to reduce the islands of Palaos, or Pelew, which were understood to consist of thirty-two in number, and to be very populous; but it was not till 1710 that they were enabled to make good a landing on them, when a patache, sent by the Governor, at last effected this desirable end.
These islanders appeared so friendly, that the pilot who had been sent on shore with an Indian to discover a good landing-place, was persuaded to go up the country to the chief, who receiving him with cordiality, the favourable report he made to the fathers determined them immediately to land and plant the cross. They accordingly departed in the launch, accompanied by twelve of the people, with an intention of returning to the ship as soon as the object was effected; but the pilot, after making repeated signals, having protracted his stay until the setting in of the periodical hurricanes, was compelled to abandon the mission in this state of uncertainty, and return to Manila; since which time nothing has been heard of the Jesuits or the Spaniards who accompanied them. Two ships, indeed, have been sent in search of them, but one was lost, and the other failed in her attempt to reach the Palaos, the only result of her voyage being the discovery of a few insignificant islands.
In the year 1710, three English ships arrived on the coast of California, and our squadron on that station having been separated, were attacked singly by them. The admiral, whose captain was a Frenchman, struck without opposition. The other ship, Nuestra Señora de Begoña, Captain Francisco de Angulo, being deficient of his complement of men, and even those in a sickly state, after a gallant resistance, was compelled to retire. Our loss on this occasion was eight killed and eight wounded. Our galleon mounted twenty-four guns and twenty patereros, and the largest English ship thirty-six; the second twenty-four, and the third twenty-two guns. The King, irritated by this disgraceful loss, severely censured the Viceroy for his imprudence in confiding a Spanish ship of war to the command of a stranger.
On the 4th of February, 1715, deeply regretted by all, after an administration of five years, died the Conde de Lizarraga, and the Oidor Torralba succeeded him ad interim. He rendered himself extremely useful to the colony in casting artillery, and in other public works; but he had the misfortune to be on very indifferent terms with his colleagues in office. Señor Pavon, who had been divested of his office by the concurrence of the Royal Audience, in the views of Señor Torralba, appealed to his Sovereign, who acquitted him, and permitted him to return to his office. The royal order to this effect arrived during the governorship, ad interim, of Señor Torralba, who refused to put it into execution, and so persecuted Señor Pavon, that he compelled him to take refuge in the convent of St. Augustine. He likewise proceeded, in a most hostile manner, against the Oidor Villa, on a most ridiculous pretext.
CHAPTER VII.
ANNO DOM. 1717.
The Administration of Don Fernando Bustamante, commonly called the Marshal.
The Field-Marshal Don Fernando Bustamante Bustillo y Rueda, late alcalde mayor of Tlascala, in New Spain, took possession of his government on the 9th of August, 1717. He was a man who knew how to make himself obeyed, and the more difficulties he encountered, the more did his resolution impel him to meet them with effect. He began by issuing some strong decrees, and others still more severe were expected. These were principally directed to the recovery of above two hundred thousand dollars, which he found were due to the royal treasury by different people, both by those in office, and generally by the public. These parties finding he was determined on the measure, began to murmur at his proceedings. Without, however, allowing himself to be influenced by any consideration of this nature, he laid an embargo on all the silver that came in the galleon from Acapulco, and required from the public functionaries correct statements of their accounts with the royal treasury. By an examination of those names which appeared as owners of the silver, he found it an easy matter to cover all those debts, and by this dexterous management recovered about three hundred thousand dollars to the treasury. Many of those, however, then indebted to the government, having died, or being reduced to poverty, their securities of course became responsible, and this extended the consequences of his measures to so many in Manila, that he became an object of general hatred, particularly as he went so far as to punish delinquencies by confining individuals as prisoners in their office, and by seizing their property. He ordered the late secretary of Torralba to give an account of what had been received for licences granted to the Chinese, and as this was not complied with, he seized all his effects, and committed him to prison, practising many other acts of severity too numerous to mention.
Although these islands had been many years at peace with the Kings of Jolo and Mindanao, yet several pirates of those kingdoms continued to infest our coasts, and yet no redress could be had from the respective Sovereigns, who frankly acknowledged their inability to prevent such irregularities. With a view to correct these abuses, the Governor was desirous of re-establishing the station of Zamboanga, which, in the time of Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, had been abandoned through apprehension of the Chinese pirate Cogseng, who had at that time threatened these islands.
This matter was brought before a select committee of the royal works, who decided, by ten against seven, that the station should not be re-established; among other reasons alleging, that it was of no service against the Moors, and that it was supported at the heavy annual expense of twenty-five thousand dollars, answering no other purpose than that of enriching the Governor, whose appointment was from Manila, and for a term of three years. In opposition to the decision of this committee, however, the Governor ordered the works to be re-constructed. This further exasperated the public against him.
The Franciscans having requested the Governor to place a garrison in Labo, in the island of Paragua, to protect them from the Moors, he consented to it, and accordingly erected a fort at much less expense than that of Zamboanga, though as little tending to the public benefit.
Don Fernando Bustamante, not satisfied with urging the Spaniards to cultivate commercial connections with the other kingdoms of Asia, was desirous of establishing one with the kingdom of Siam in particular, to whose King he sent a nephew of his own, bearing magnificent presents. He arrived in safety, was received well, and entertained splendidly. He delivered his credentials and presents to the King, and concluded a treaty of friendship, by which the Spaniards were allowed to establish a factory in that kingdom.
By virtue of this treaty, a ship from Siam arrived at Manila with goods, but the Governor treated the Siamese so ill, that they returned discontented, and by this conduct the whole cost of the embassy was thrown away. The Spaniards severely censured this extraordinary conduct of the Governor, some attributing it to the caprice of his disposition, while others feeling less inclination to smother their sentiments, asserted boldly that the public interests of the monarchy, and of these islands, had no influence with him, unless they accorded with his own individual views of interest, or with the gratification of his passion for ostentation.
A charge was made by the King’s fiscal against Señor Torralba, for property which had disappeared during the time he held the chief authority, the amount of which, according to his own account, was seven hundred thousand dollars. It was understood that his son had effected his escape with considerable property, and that his wife, with his younger sons, had embarked in the ship for Acapulco, at the close of his government. The royal fiscal requested that the property might be attached which his wife had taken with her, and that the person of Torralba might be secured. The Governor, in compliance with this, and always very zealous for the royal revenue, imprisoned him in the fort of Santiago. At this period the decision of the court arrived, by which Señor Villa was acquitted, and Señor Torralba fined in twenty thousand dollars, with orders to give security for twenty thousand more. His inability to comply with the terms of his sentence, put it in the Governor’s power to indulge his antipathy against public delinquents, by loading him with fetters, and treating him with the greatest rigour.
These proceedings of the Governor were sufficient to expose him to the hatred of all. It is certain that a little before his death, a royal order arrived, in which the Archbishop was charged to place the Royal Audience on the same footing as before, and the chief Oidor had liberty to suspend the Governor from his office, if it was found necessary.
Having despatched the ship for Acapulco, under the command of Don Domingo Nebra, with letters in justification of his conduct, and suspecting that private letters had been forwarded by the same vessel, complaining of him to the government, he sent directions to stop the vessel, but she sailed immediately on the arrival of the officers despatched for that purpose, without paying any regard to the orders for her detention.
The Governor, who was not of a disposition to permit himself to be insulted with impunity, ordered three ships which were lying in the port of Cavite to be prepared, and gave the command of them to Don Fernando de Angulo, for the purpose of pursuing the galleon, and bringing her back to Manila; and in case this force should not be able to overtake her, he at the same time despatched a patache, in which he sent his nephew, Don Alexandro Bustamente, to New Spain, to give information of what had passed. This was unquestionably a necessary measure on the part of the merchants, as the royal officers had retired to St. Augustine, without having furnished a correct register of the different goods on board, and they had reason to fear that on their arrival at Acapulco they would be seized.
The Governor was given to understand that Angulo would not attack the galleon even with his three ships, as he was one of those who had entered into the conspiracy against him, when it was determined that the Chinese should be murdered. All, in short, were become heartily disgusted with his tyranny, and were ripe for rebellion, though few had concerted any regular plan for the purpose. The Governor, whose destiny led him to the edge of the precipice, instead of tranquillizing the minds of the public by resorting to prudent measures, began to commit still greater enormities. This alarmed the Señor Villa, who was the only Oidor that remained, and who had been appointed Fiscal. It appeared clear that the Governor’s conduct would produce some dismal catastrophe, and, unable to oppose it, fearing likewise that his own life was insecure, he took shelter in the convent of the Augustines.
On the retirement of the Señor Villa, the Royal Audience was annihilated, as Señor Torralba was in prison by order of the King, and the Governor would not permit the Señor Pavon to return to his office again; the former fiscal was dead, and the Señors Velasco and Torribio, the honorary Oidors and law professors, had had all their property confiscated, and had been imprisoned. The annihilation of the Royal Audience was a misfortune both to the inhabitants of Manila, and likewise to the Governor, as it was the means of giving validity, in the name of the King, to his atrocities. He consulted Señor Torralba, and agreed that he should be released from his dungeon, and confined in the hall of the Royal Audience, where the functions of this respectable tribunal were exercised by one individual, of notorious character, who had been deservedly disgraced, and was a prisoner by order of his Majesty. Under this authority the Governor began to imprison those whom he chose to consider as obnoxious to him, none being exempt but those who had taken refuge in the churches, which were by this means filled with the first people of Manila and its neighbourhood. A notary public, among others, had retired to the cathedral; his effects were immediately seized, and, upon examination, his register of sales, contracts, &c. was missing from his office. The ordinary Alcalde who seized his effects consulted the Governor upon this circumstance, and stated, that although he had taken refuge in a sanctuary, yet, legally, he ought to be compelled to deliver up the register. The Governor submitted it to the decision of the Royal Audience, which being composed of Señor Torralba solely, he immediately despatched an order, to which the royal seal was affixed, addressed to the Archbishop, in which he was directed to enter the cathedral, and deliver up to justice the notary public, who had taken refuge there.
Señor Cuesta, who did not wish to have an unavailing dispute, consulted the two universities upon the point, and they unanimously gave it as their opinion, that Señor Torralba could neither give due authority to royal orders, nor could the archbishop direct the royal jurisdiction, even if duly authenticated, to be exercised within the church. He forwarded to the Governor these opinions, with a view to justify himself in declining obedience to the order which had been issued by Señor Torralba. This reply was forwarded by the Governor to the Royal Audience, and it occasioned the issue of another order still more severe, in which the archbishop was treated with little ceremony, and threatened to be compelled, by force, to obey, and no longer shelter himself behind a consultation with the two universities. The archbishop, convinced that Señor Torralba was the principal instigator of these unhappy disputes, with less prudence than the circumstances of the times required, issued a process against this violator of ecclesiastical sanctuary, and excommunicated him. This was the grand error he committed, and from which melancholy consequences resulted; for having sent two of the clergy to intimate to him the sentence of excommunication, Torralba, on observing them approach, went to meet them, and snatched from them the paper containing it. Immediately afterwards appeared a publication from him, accusing the clergy of an intention to take away his life, and suborned witnesses: having, on examination, confirmed this charge, the Governor was induced to commit to prison the Archbishop, and several of the clergy and religious orders, with such other persons as had taken refuge in the churches.
Before, however, this order was put in force, a proclamation was issued, requiring all the inhabitants in the vicinity to assemble in the office of the royal auditor, in aid of the civil power; and that on the signal of the discharge of a cannon, with ball, they should all repair to the palace. When the time arrived to put the scheme in execution, the artillery was levelled against the city, and the gates leading into the square, and the fort of Santiago being secured, and ammunition distributed to the guards appointed there, the signal gun agreed on was fired, and all in the vicinity repairing to the palace, they were detained there.
Having thus made his dispositions, the Governor ordered the Archbishop, with all the ecclesiastical Cabildo, the Commissary of the Inquisition, the heads of the religious orders, and various other clergy, to be seized. By these arrests and preparations, consternation was spread over the whole city; nothing was seen but knives at people’s throats, and it was said that it was the intention of the Governor to decapitate all the Spaniards, and escape to the coast of Mexico with their property. Even this extravagant charge was credited, as he was known to be a man who respected no tribunal, and who had violated the sanctuary of the churches, by dragging from thence those who had taken refuge there, committing them to prison, not even excepting the ecclesiastics. Despair alone produced a tumultuous assemblage of the inhabitants, but without any premeditated plan, nor is it an easy matter now to discover how the disturbances began.
The religious of the different orders were seen in procession along the streets with crucifixes in their hands, accompanied by people of all classes, particularly those who had taken refuge in the churches, and who had not yet been seized, calling out, “Long live the true faith, long live the church, and long live our King, Philip the Fifth!”—They arrived in this manner at the church of St. Augustine, where the chief people of Manila, who had taken refuge there, joined them, and being provided with arms, they followed the procession to the palace. A page intimated to the Governor that the friars were in procession along the streets, and he immediately gave directions to put a stop to it, though he was ignorant of its meaning, and only presumed there was some tumult. On observing them from the window, however, and being convinced of their mutinous intention, he despatched positive orders to the fort to fire the artillery on the city; but although the Governor of the fort was his son, his humanity, or his disobedience was such, that he only fired two, and those so ill pointed, that the shot did not take effect.
Meantime the immense concourse of inhabitants arrived at the palace without opposition, when the guard, either overawed, or conniving at the measure, permitted them to pass unmolested, and the crowd ascended the staircase. The halberdiers, who were on guard in the anti-room, made no resistance, nor did even one individual attempt to defend the palace except the Governor, who rushing out alone, fired his fusee, and with his drawn sword attacked the crowd. A friar endeavoured to accost him, but he called out, “Leave me, father, unless you wish to murder me,” and making a cut with his sabre, he wounded a citizen. Upon this a general attack was made on him, when his arm being broke, and his head severely wounded, he fell apparently dead. His son, the Governor of the fort, observing from thence that the tumult had reached the palace with every alarming appearance, he mounted a horse in order to assist his father, and entered the palace sword in hand, but he was overpowered, and wounded so severely that he died the same evening. A Jesuit friar approached the Governor, to ascertain if he still lived, when the dying man said, in a faint voice, “Father, do not abandon me until the last moment of my life, which I have well deserved to lose, on account of my misconduct.” He very devoutly confessed himself, and some of the mutineers seeing that he was still likely to live, carried him into an adjoining apartment, and put him in a hammock, with a view to convey him to a dungeon in the court prison, when, in his passage out, he was met by a slave of the chief auditor’s, Don Vincente Lucea, who gave him two mortal stabs with a knife. The father and son were both placed in the chapel of the prison, and the dean sent for surgical assistance, but in the mean time, between five and six in the evening, they both died, having received their wounds between twelve and one in the course of the day.
The mutineers proceeded to the prisons, set at liberty the inhabitants of Manila confined there, and placed in their stead the Oidor Torralba and Doctor Correa, who had officiated as fiscal during these disturbances, and likewise as secretary to the Governor.
The Governor being dead, the ordinary alcalde assumed the reins of government in the civil department, and Don Fernando Bustamente, the son of the late Governor, who had that day lost his life in assisting his father, notwithstanding this succeeded nominally to the military department. The arrangement was every way invalid, as his Majesty had determined, by repeated royal edicts, that on the death of the Governor, the Royal Audience should be invested with the reins of Government. This tribunal, however, had been of late merely a shadow, as it had been composed of Señor Torralba solely, who was a prisoner by his Majesty’s order. The principal people of the city not knowing on whom to bestow the chief magistracy, went to the fort of Santiago, where the archbishop was confined, and requested that he would assume the government. He, however, declined it, on the plea that he was not authorized; but upon their pressing his acceptance of it, he left the fort, and passing by the palace of the Governor, the people attempted to force him to enter and take possession of it, but he resisted, and proceeded on to the archiepiscopal palace. He ordered two notaries public to examine the body of the Governor, who reported that he was dead, and upon this report the principal people in Manila again assembled, and resolved, that under all the circumstances, it was incumbent on the archbishop to assume the direction of public affairs. The archbishop was at last prevailed on to assent, but before taking the customary oaths, he thought it prudent to make the declaration, that what he did was not from any wish to prejudice the right which any person might have to the government through the appointment of his Majesty. The ceremony ended with the citizens doing him the same homage as was usual on the appointment of regular Governors.
The day following he summoned a council, at which, in conjunction with those who had assisted him the day before, were present the Oidor Villa, who had left Manila and had retired to Guadalupe, and the honorary Oidors, Velasco and Torribio, whom the insurgents had released from confinement. The Señor Villa was acknowledged in this assembly as legitimate Oidor, and as such he renounced the right which the laws gave him of holding the reins of government, and recognized, on the day following, in the hall of the Royal Audience, the archbishop, as his legitimate President and Governor, delivering up to him the keys of the secret archives. The Royal Audience being thus formed, it was agreed that in consequence of the want of regular Oidors, the honorary members, Velasco and Torribio, should be added to their number, as there were many suits pending which required immediate adjudication. Velasco and Torribio were not desirous of taking this situation without being duly authorized by the King; but finding that it was the unanimous opinion of all who had attended at the meeting held for the purpose, they at last agreed to it. Finally, Señor Pavon was restored to his office of Oidor, agreeable to the order of the King, and he likewise ceded his right to the Governor, though there was afterwards a dispute between Señor Villa and him respecting precedency as the oldest Oidor, and which dispute the archbishop decided.
There never appeared less confusion at an insurrection than on the present occasion, every individual seeming satisfied with his lot in being relieved from unjust oppression and violence. The archbishop, who had assumed the reins of government, was the only person whose mind was not at ease; but in a short time he was restored to tranquillity by the arrival of a royal order, enjoining him to suspend the Governor from his office, and imprison him; replace the Royal Audience on the same footing as before; set at liberty the Señor Velasco, and assume the reins of government himself, which was exactly what had been effected by the late disturbance.
The archbishop had neither forgotten the dead bodies of the Governor and his son, nor his orphan family; he buried the former with all the pomp and solemnity which Governors were accustomed to receive. Bustamente left six sons; the oldest was appointed guardian to the others, and they were allowed one thousand dollars per annum for their maintenance. They afterwards requested permission to proceed to New Spain; but his excellency would not grant it, until the elder brother paid into the royal treasury the expenses of the voyage, and agreed to conduct all his brothers to Mexico, where they had rich relations, who would receive them into their protection, and educate them.
The death of the marshal took place on the 11th of October, 1719, within a little more than two years after he assumed the government.
The public mind being at length tranquillized, the Oidor Velasco was commissioned to enquire into the circumstances relating to the death of the Governor and that of his son. He examined seventeen of the first characters in the city, who had taken no part in this disturbance, and their evidence tended to confirm what we have above related. He afterwards took the depositions of those in the service of Bustamente, who all declared against the conduct of their master. He even summoned before the judge some scholars, whom he accused of having published libels on the late Governor; but they justified themselves, and were acquitted.
He likewise proceeded to examine Señor Torralba, Doctor Correa, secretary to the government, and another counsellor, who served as fiscal ad interim; who threw the whole blame on the Governor Bustamente, representing him as a perfect devil, under whom they were in constant apprehension of their lives, and urging in their defence that the confusion was so great, they were ignorant of what was passing, and knew not who were or were not imprisoned. Lastly, the depositions of the Governor’s body guard was taken, of whom, however, no information could be procured, they declaring that they were so confounded at the multitude of people assembled on the occasion that they knew nothing of what passed. The utmost they heard was, that those inhabitants of Manila who had taken refuge in the church of St. Augustine had united with the friars, and were coming in a body to the palace, but who committed the murders they were totally ignorant of. The Oidor Velasco now gave orders, that all those who had taken refuge in the convent of St. Augustine should be imprisoned in their own houses: when, however, this was known throughout the city, such consternation prevailed, that Velasco revoked his decree, and delivered in his report with all diligence to the Royal Audience, who, without proceeding any further with the examinations into this business, ordered that a minute of it, as it then stood, should be forwarded to his Majesty. This wise proceeding tranquillized the minds of the inhabitants of Manila, who had felt exceedingly alarmed during the progress of the enquiry.
The archbishop governed these islands for the space of two years with much prudence, and gave great satisfaction to the public, preserving in Manila the utmost harmony among all the different classes of inhabitants, and making due preparations against the Moors, who shewed a disposition to attack the garrisons which had been established to keep them in check. That of Zamboanga was an object of much jealousy to the Moors of Mindanao; and Dulasi, King of Butuy, sent a powerful armament to attempt to get possession of it by assault; they were repulsed by the Spaniards, but although severely handled, they did not desist from the enterprize.
The Kings of Jolo and Mindanao sent out their fleets for the avowed purpose of relieving the Spanish force in Zamboanga, but the Governor of that fort, doubtful of their intentions, would not admit them into the place, nor make use of them in any shape. Their design upon this became evident, as they immediately joined Dulasi, and they lay with their three squadrons for some time in view of the fort, watching a fit opportunity to possess themselves of it. Finding, however, that the Spaniards were constantly on the watch, and despairing of compelling the fort to surrender, they dispersed their vessels through the islands, committing great excesses, and making many prisoners in every quarter. They, as usual, burnt many towns and villages, robbed many churches, and in Calamianes murdered a Franciscan friar. The archbishop called a council of war on this occasion, when it was resolved that the fort of Zamboanga should be abandoned, as likewise that of Labo, which the marshal had erected in the island of Parava, and that their garrisons should be sent to augment that of Taytay, which was deemed sufficient to protect the whole of Calamianes.
CHAPTER VIII.
ANNO DOM. 1721.
The Administration of the Marquis de Torre Campo.
Before the death of the marshal was known at Madrid, the information which had been received of his extortions and despotism had induced his Majesty to nominate as Governor Don Torribio Cosio, Marquis de Torre Campo, late Governor of Guatimala, who took possession of his government on the 6th day of August, 1721. Many charges were preferred against the former Governor, and many of his friends were looked upon as his accomplices. Some of them, however, denied the charge, and others asserted that they acquiesced in his measures in order to save themselves from his violence, and to secure their property. Don Esteban Iñigo, among other charges, was accused of monopolizing the rice, which had been the occasion of a great famine in the islands; but he replied that he had been compelled to enter into this speculation by the Governor, and acceded to it as the only means of saving the rice, as well as the whole of his own property.
When the marshal’s death was known in Madrid, a royal order was forwarded to the Governor to bring to justice those suspected of being his accomplices. The marquis, on this occasion, consulted the Franciscan Friar Totanes, his confessor, and the college of Jesuits, as to the conduct he should observe. After considerable discussion, it was resolved to suspend all further enquiries, and communicate to his Majesty the proceedings which had already taken place, and the advice which he had taken, thus putting an end, for the present, to these distressing enquiries. The archbishop at this time was removed from his chair, and translated to the bishopric of Mechoacan, as a punishment for his having coincided with the marshal’s measures, and for having, without due authority, assumed the baton of office after his death. He died on the 30th of May, 1724, a few days after having taken possession of his bishopric.
The islands would have enjoyed peace and tranquillity under the new Governor, had not the Moors still continued their depredations on the provinces of the Bisayas, and which the marquis sent a squadron to repress, but this, like every preceding attempt, had failed of success.
Don Juan Gainza, to whom was imputed the murder of the son of the Governor, embarked for Acapulco, accompanied by Don Diego Salazar, who was the companion of Lucea, the supposed assassin of the Marshal Bustamente. When the relatives of Don Fernando Bustamente heard of the arrival of these men at Acapulco, they petitioned the Viceroy for their imprisonment; and on this application an order was forwarded to the Governor of Acapulco to proceed against them. He accordingly took the depositions of the people in the ship, and as little could be proved against them by this means, he sent them prisoners to Mexico. Here a very circumstantial account of the deaths of the marshal and his son was produced against them, in which it was urged that these two were accomplices in the murder. This account was not deemed sufficient to authenticate further proceedings, although a son of the deceased Governor swore, that a similar statement of the transaction had been given in Manila, by the father-in-law of this same Don Diego Salazar, agreeing in every point with this of Don Alexandro Bustamente; the nephew of the deceased Governor swore to the truth of his having heard the same story; and likewise the marshal’s confident, Diego Muzarabe, confirmed it with the declaration, that although in Manila he had declared against his master, yet that it had been through fear of his own life, and that he was influenced by that consideration, when he stated simply, that the refugees in the church of St. Augustine had only approached the palace in a tumultuous manner, from which had resulted the fatal catastrophe. Luis Pardo Santizo Piñeiro’s declaration was nearly to the same effect; and although the truth of the majority of these depositions was strongly suspected, yet their oaths, in the mean time, were admitted as a matter of necessity against the supposed criminals.
Don Juan Gainza requested that they might be sent back to Manila to take their trial, and the Viceroy finding the case full of difficulty, forwarded the whole of the documents to his Majesty, putting Don Juan Gainza in confinement until the determination of the King should be known. This in due time arrived, and the Viceroy was instructed to remand the parties to Manila, to take their trials along with the others accused of the crime in question.
The council of the Indies, who had taken the account of the examinations on the murders of the Governor and his son, agreed with the Royal Audience in remaining apparently satisfied with them; but a royal order having been forwarded to the Marquis de Torre Campo to sift the business to the bottom, and punish the offenders, this Governor, having no desire to enter further into such unavailing processes, consulted the Friar Totanes and the Jesuits, who had before given him their assistance. The friar on this occasion exaggerated the loss of property sustained by the inhabitants of Manila, and by the pious establishments: he represented the severe pressure arising from the absolute scarcity of rice, on which account, it was said, many had died of hunger. He alleged that the marshal had been the cause of all this; that his violent proceedings had been the means of producing a strong sensation among all ranks, and converting the conduct of the citizens into a measure of self-defence, having no other alternative for alleviating the miseries they were exposed to than by deposing him from his office. To what tribunal, it was well urged by the friar, could they cite him to answer for his conduct? The Royal Audience was abolished; the archbishop and clergy in prison; and the government of the city had been committed to an ordinary alcalde, who was the Governor’s nephew, and two regidores, his creatures. There being, therefore, no tribunal to which he was amenable, they had determined on confining him, as the most eligible mode of terminating their miseries; and in this justifiable attempt to save their own lives and properties, his resistance produced a mortal wound. More ought, therefore, to be attributed to the marshal’s violent and imprudent conduct, than to the inhabitants of Manila.
This language, which in fact amounted nearly to sedition, was represented to the King as the sentiments of all the clergy of the Philippines, but it was an attempt to asperse their reputation, as the Friar Totanes had no authority in this respect; and in fact most of the clergy, with the Jesuits, had no hesitation in expressing their disapprobation of the conduct of the citizens of Manila, although they allowed that the extraordinary circumstances of the case, rendered them deserving of the royal indulgence.
In this business all the accused remained unpunished except the archbishop, who had the least share in the disturbances. He, however, was punished severely; that worthy prelate, who in imitation of Christ, bore on his shoulders the sins of his people. Señor Torralba, whose cavillings added fuel to the flame of this tumult, was imprisoned in the fort of Santiago. The marquis tried him by a special commission, by the sentence of which he was fined an immense sum, deprived of his office, and condemned to perpetual banishment from Madrid and Manila, allowing him, however, to return to Spain, after he had paid the first one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. During the remaining period of his imprisonment, he was in a very bad state of health, and when liberated he was in such misery, that he was reduced to the necessity of begging, to avoid dying of hunger. After his death, he was interred as a common pauper in the church of San Juan de Dios. The severity of this lesson is sufficient to impress on us the necessity of a correct and upright conduct, and it is hoped it will not, in this respect, be thrown away.
In the year 1718, his Majesty sent to Manila three professors; the Señor Velasco, professor of laws, with a salary of eight hundred dollars per annum, with the rank of Oidor; and at the end of seven years to be promoted to be Alcalde del Crimen at Mexico. The Señor Toribio was likewise to have the rank of honorary Oidor, and to have five hundred dollars per annum, as la Cathedra de Instituto, and at the end of seven years he was to be promoted to be Oidor of Guatimala. The professor of canon law was Doctor Osio, who received eight hundred dollars per annum, and was to be promoted to be prebendary of Mexico. Señor Velasco being soon after removed to the Royal Audience of Mexico, the Governor directed that there should be only two professors, because their stipends were chargeable on the vacant bishoprics, and had been paid as an advance (by way of loan) from the treasury at Manila, by which about forty thousand dollars had been paid to them by way of salary, of rent of houses for their public lectures and other matters, and only nine thousand had been received in reimbursement from the Viceroy of Mexico, who had declined remitting more without a special order from court. Despatches were forwarded to his Majesty; and in the mean time the Governor placed the professors in the college of St. Philip, but the other professors opposing it, the archbishop removed them to that of the Jesuits, where, out of mere disrespect of Señor Osio, the Friar Murillo taught the canon law until the year 1730, when a royal mandate arrived, by which the professors were suspended, and indeed, very little benefit had accrued to the public from them.
About this time the Emperor of China, who had permitted the exercise of the Christian religion in his dominions, died. His successor, however, proscribed it altogether, banishing the missionaries from the empire, and permitting the residence of a few Jesuits only, who were teachers of mathematics at Pekin. The Pope, desirous of propagating the knowledge of our faith throughout all Asia, sent two barefooted Carmelite friars in quality of ambassadors to the Chinese court. According to eastern custom, they introduced the object of their mission by presents to the Emperor; but the only advantage which resulted from it was, a permission for some missionaries to remain in China.
Since this period, some of that valuable class have contrived, clandestinely, to reside in that country, and to this day continue to preach the gospel; yet their sufferings are frequent and very severe, being at times thrown into prison and banished the kingdom, where, however, in a short time they find means to return, by bribing the mandarins with money, the grand engine which governs this vast empire. The prohibition above alluded to extended to the tributary kingdom of Tonquin, where the missionaries suffered still more, for in escaping from the hands of the Governors of the different provinces, they fell into those of the freebooters, who robbed and ill treated them.
The King of Jolo sent a Chinese as ambassador to Manila to treat for peace; his excellency received him favourably, and Don Miguel Aragon was in consequence despatched to Jolo with ample powers to establish a permanent alliance with that prince. An alliance was entered into, but its duration was very short; the natives of Jolo, naturally fickle and turbulent, joining with those of Mindanao in the usual predatory excursions against our islands, in which they were guilty of the customary excesses.
The inhabitants of Manila, on this occasion, subscribed a handsome sum to fit out a small squadron for the purpose of repressing these marauders. It proceeded against the Moors, and eventually compelled them to sue for peace, but not before they had done us very considerable injury.
The galleon Santo Christo de Burgos, in her voyage to Acapulco, was stranded on the island of Ticao; upon which occasion, on the frivolous pretext of being prevented, by the offensive smell of the cargo, from opening the hatches, with a view to save the property, the ship was set fire to with the intention, there was reason to think, on the part of her commander and merchants, of attempting to embezzle, for their own use, some of the merchandize during the conflagration; but finding this impracticable, the ship and her valuable cargo were totally abandoned to the flames. This stratagem has been frequently resorted to by the merchants of the Philippines, and it will often be successful, so long as it remains undecided how the loss ought to be borne in cases of that nature. The pious establishments are the assurers, according to the terms of the instruments or deeds, made between them and the respective adventurers, who borrow money of them for the purpose of embarking in this trade; but these instruments, expressing the lender’s risk to be total loss only, the borrowers, to prevent any thing from being saved, so as to leave room for litigation, as to whether the loss was total or partial, set fire to the vessel, to place it beyond all dispute. In such cases the loss of the ship, I conceive, should be borne generally; whatever is saved should be divided among the parties, according to the property they had on board, and which might easily be ascertained, by examining the manifest with the original deeds[2].
CHAPTER IX.
ANNO DOM. 1729.
The Administration of Don Fernando Valdes y Tamon.
Don Fernando Valdes y Tamon took possession of his government on the 14th of August, 1729. He found Manila totally destitute of military stores; the losses sustained by ships, the reinforcing the different garrisons, and the armaments against the Moors, having occasioned a great diminution in the stores of cannon and small arms, both of which it became necessary to purchase from foreigners, as the foundery at Manila was not capable of supplying the deficiency. He made arrangements accordingly for procuring the necessary supply from the Peninsula of Asia, and from Batavia, taking care that the arms should be always kept in good order, a task, however necessary, yet extremely difficult in so humid an atmosphere. Indeed he in all respects proved himself an expert military man, by the several fortifications he constructed, the walls with which he surrounded the city, the out-works he formed for its better security, and the new establishment he erected for the manufacture of gunpowder.
He determined to chastise the audacity of the Moors, who were, as usual, infesting the provinces and coasts of Bisayas, and he sent against them an armament which succeeded in burning their towns and villages: but this was by no means doing them any essential injury; they had little to lose, and in return they laid waste nearly the whole of the Spanish possessions with fire and sword. However much Señor Tamon was desirous of repressing the depredations of these pirates, he found it impossible, the low ebb of the treasury opposing a sufficient bar to his fitting out such a force as might answer any other purpose than that of a temporary check on their ravages.
The Governor’s resources being thus too much limited to enable him to make the necessary exertions against the Moors, he called a council of the principal inhabitants of Manila, in which it was resolved, that it was absolutely requisite for the public safety that a number of different armaments should be fitted out; that forts should be erected along the coasts, and points of communication and rallying established between the towns; and that, in aid of the royal funds, a contribution of five hundred dollars should be imposed on each town. Some of the religious establishments had found it necessary to adopt the expedient of erecting works round the different churches, where the Indians might take refuge from the inroads of the Moors. Others constructed watchtowers on elevated situations, with a view to discover the enemy, and give the necessary alarm, taking due care to visit them during the night, to ascertain that the centinels were sufficiently vigilant, thus discharging the twofold duty of pastors and military officers. By this arrangement, even no fishing town was without its small fort or station for its protection.
The royal funds, however, contributed in no respect to this desirable object; the public was indebted for it solely to the friars, who, from their slender stipends, made the necessary disbursements to the superintendants of the works and for the pay of the soldiers; and succeeded, by persuasion and threats, in inducing the towns to furnish materials and workmen, expending much money, and exercising great perseverance, in order to complete the necessary means of defence.
No sooner did the alcaldes mayores see these military posts put into an effective state, than they determined to take them under their own control; and an officer is now annually sent for that purpose to each station, with orders to draft a certain number of natives for its service. The officer regularly keeps these men at work on his own farm, or obliges them to purchase, with money, an exemption from this labour, leaving, generally speaking, the post completely abandoned. This is every way a severe hardship on the adjacent inhabitants, and proves the truth of Señor Solorzano’s observation, that whatever is done with a view to benefit the Indians, by some means or other is converted to their prejudice.
The conquest of the islands of Carolinas and Palaos having been suspended from the time of the Conde de Lizarraga, began again to attract the notice of government[3]. There had arrived at the Marianas two vessels out of four, which in passing from one of the Carolinas to a neighbouring island, had met with a gale of wind, and were driven on our coasts, without knowing what had become of their companions. The Governor of Marianas determined to take these Indians to their own country, having in view, at the same time, a more accurate examination of the islands in question. Accompanied by the Jesuit Cantova, he accordingly proceeded on his voyage of discovery with these vessels; but being unable even to find the islands, he pursued his voyage to Manila, where he persuaded the Governor to accede to his undertaking this object. In the year 1730 he returned to the Marianas with the permission he had solicited, and reiterated his attempt, in company with the Jesuit Friars Cantova and Victor, eleven soldiers, and eight seamen, taking with him as a guide an Indian of Palao, who had been baptized, and who, they presumed, would be able to conduct them in safety to their destination. They discovered the island of Moymoy, and erected a military station in that of Talalap, where they built a church and a house, baptized some children, and instructed some adults in the first duties of religion, by which they were vain enough to believe that the conquest was completed, and they began to think of despatching the vessel for additional aid, to enable them to subdue the remainder of the islands. The Friar Cantova, with some soldiers, took up their residence there, while Friar Victor with the remainder, and some of the islanders, who had expressed a wish to accompany them, sailed on their return to the Marianas, but not being able to make them, bore away to Manila, where one of the Indians was baptized, the Governor standing godfather. The Friar Victor embarked in a patache, with the necessary succours, to his companions; but arriving at Talalap, he found that the church and the house of Friar Cantova had disappeared, and from one of the natives he understood that the whole party had been murdered. Convinced of the difficulty attending the subjection of these islands, he returned to Manila, and since that period no similar attempt has been made.
Under this Governor was terminated the discussion which had subsisted between the Chamber of Commerce of Seville and the merchants of Manila, the subject having occupied the public attention many years. The merchants of Seville argued, that the galleon ought not to carry silk from Manila to New Spain, in either its raw or wrought state; and that the commerce of the Philippines with that country ought to be restricted to cotton goods, flag-stones, wax, and spices; and even to this they insisted on the propriety of limits being placed, on account of the great injury arising to the mother country from the trade. The consequence of these discussions was a royal decree, which granted to the merchants of Seville the full extent of what they required; but the Viceroy of Mexico, to whom the decree was forwarded, would not put it in force, representing, in his justification, that the commerce of the Philippines was absolutely necessary to the kingdom of Mexico, as the duties levied upon that commerce fully repaid the expenses of the public establishments requisite for these islands as a colony; and as he had just then received intelligence, that the island of Luzon had suffered most severely not only from the locusts, but from the violent and injudicious conduct of the then Governor (the marshal), he did not conceive he would act correctly in putting the order into execution. Upon this representation being laid before the council, it was resolved, that the Philippines should have two galleons in future, and that the merchants there should be permitted annually to ship in them for New Spain, to the value of three hundred thousand dollars, in goods of every description, wrought silks and gold embroidery excepted, both which were prohibited. As a return cargo, they were permitted to carry back double that amount in silver, and the residue of their profits to be invested in merchandize, or in produce of New Spain.
The merchants of Manila again petitioned his Majesty on the subject, and, in compliance with their request, he permitted them to take wrought silk to Acapulco; but on a second representation from the merchants of Seville, stating the heavy loss these concessions would create, the Viceroy of Mexico was finally instructed, that for five years the trade should remain on its old footing, except that the merchants of Manila should not be allowed to send wrought silk to New Spain.
The Viceroy of Mexico had sent this royal order to Señor Tamon, the then Governor of Manila, and when it was communicated to the merchants, various meetings were held, and it was resolved that no alteration in the shipments should take place, and that it should be given out that the royal order had not arrived in due time to be promulgated, previous to the arrangements which had been made for the usual shipments. In short, great consternation prevailed. The Governor did not interpose his authority against the general sentiments, but intimated his apprehension that the Viceroy would seize the goods on their arrival at Acapulco. During this agitation of the public mind the galleon arrived, bringing the order from Madrid, which is in force to this day, and by which it is ordained, that the merchants of Manila may ship to the amount of five hundred thousand dollars in cotton goods, manufactured silk, wax, spices, and every description of goods from China, the Peninsula of India, and the islands, and that they may take in return one million of dollars in silver, and the rest in merchandize, or South American produce[4].
Our guarda costas, during this year, captured a Dutch vessel, and brought her to Manila, where she was condemned, under the pretence that she was carrying arms to our enemies the Moors. As soon as the Dutch in Batavia understood this, they despatched three ships to cruize off Mariveles, with a view to intercept the galleon which was expected to sail about this time for Acapulco, as well as the one which was expected to arrive. Intelligence of the disposition made by the Dutch was forwarded to the straits of St. Bernardino, but the messenger on his arrival found that the galleon was aground in the bay of Calantas, and that the silver had been taken out and sent to Sorsogon. Some works had been erected to protect the ship, and many unsuccessful attempts were made to get her off, when she was eventually set fire to, that she might not fall into the hands of the Moors.
The Dutch annoyed these islands considerably, by thus preventing any vessels from entering or leaving the port of Cavite. The Governor viewed with deep concern this attack on our possessions, and found himself embarrassed how to act, as he had transmitted to court the account of the seizure of the Dutch vessel, and had decreed her condemnation; but as the Dutch seemed determined to avenge the insult, he had every reason to apprehend that serious misunderstanding between the two powers might be the result. In this dilemma he resolved to restore the vessel, and write to the Governor of Batavia on the subject, on which the Dutch retired, and left the bay open. Nothing else worthy of notice took place during this long government, except the arrival of a new archbishop on the 24th of January, 1737.
CHAPTER X.
ANNO DOM. 1739.
The Administration of Don Gaspar de la Torre.
Señor Don Gaspar de la Torre, born in Flanders, of Spanish parents, arrived at Manila, and found, among other cares that would devolve upon him, a suit which had been carrying on against Señor Arroyo, the royal fiscal, upon an accusation preferred by Señor Tamon. An attempt having been made to apprehend and imprison the fiscal upon this occasion, he was too much on his guard to fall into the snare, and took refuge in the Franciscan convent, preserving, in this secure retreat, the liberty of his person, though he could not save his property, which was all seized, that small portion excepted which he was able to take with him. The matter was in this state when Don Gaspar de la Torre took possession of the government. The archbishop, who was the angel of peace in these islands, persuaded himself he could succeed in accommodating the unhappy difference, and proposed to the new Governor his mediation in favour of the fiscal; but this was opposed by the Governor, on the ground that Arroyo ought to show his respect for the laws, by submitting to be imprisoned in the fort, and undergoing the usual forms of trial. The archbishop was inclined to think that the accused would enjoy more liberty in the fort than he did in the Franciscan convent, and all his friends being of this opinion, Señor Arroyo was at last persuaded to quit his retreat. This unfortunate determination subjected him to fresh hardships, for he was immediately seized, thrown into a dungeon in the fort, and accused of several new crimes. He was asked if he was aware of the cause of his confinement; he answered, that he conceived he was imprisoned because he would not, unnoticed, pass over the sums of which Señor Tamon, and many of his particular confederates, had defrauded the royal revenue, amounting, he believed, to about three millions of dollars: he declined saying any thing further, as he was in a state of confinement.
All these proceedings were forwarded to his Majesty, and in the mean time Señor Arroyo’s imprisonment in the fort was accompanied with circumstances of the greatest rigour, which had the effect of reducing the mind of the archbishop to a state of profound melancholy, considering himself as the author, however innocently, of the fiscal’s miseries. He sickened and died in a very short time, to the great grief of all, on account of his affability and many excellent qualities.
Through the connivance of the Oidors, Dr. Neyra, professor of laws in the college of the Jesuits, was made fiscal ad interim, and by this means an addition was made to the number of Señor Arroyo’s enemies. He was now accused of having married without licence. Examinations were taken on the subject, and a number of witnesses produced, who were all of the clerical order, and among them particularly was the person who had performed the ceremony. Arroyo endeavoured, by every means, to refute this charge, but as the Governor was his decided enemy, the clergy threw their weight likewise into the scale against him. In a very short time he fell sick, and died in a few days, borne down by the accumulated miseries to which he had been subjected. He was the best and most faithful minister his Majesty ever had in these islands, and his person ought to have been held as sacred as that of a Roman tribune.
The King, fully informed of the harsh treatment of the fiscal, and the violent proceedings against him which had been resorted to, became convinced of the truth of the allegations preferred against the conduct of Señor Tamon, and acquitting the fiscal of the crimes imputed to him, forwarded an order, permitting him to return to his office, enjoining the arrears of his salary to be paid up, and directing that the two lawyers who had appeared against him should be fined two hundred dollars each. Before this order arrived, however, the fiscal was no more; a result commonly looked for in this climate, where the difficulty of recovering, in cases of a depression of spirits, is generally insuperable[5].
About this time war was declared between Spain and England, an enemy more to be dreaded on account of the injury formerly done by this nation to the Philippines. On this occasion, Admiral George Anson passed Cape Horn with a squadron, in which passage he lost some ships, but with the remainder he run down the coast of America, doing all the mischief in his power. He arrived at Acapulco, where, finding that the ship Nuestra Señora de Cobadonga, had not yet sailed to the Philippines, he prosecuted his voyage thither, with the two ships which remained of his squadron. He refreshed at one of the islands of the Marianas, and put into Canton river to refit his ships, which had been considerably damaged in the progress of the voyage. In Manila all the operations of Anson were known, and to prevent him from capturing the Cobadonga, the Governor despatched a galiot to give notice of this powerful enemy, with directions for the Cobadonga to change her route, and send information respecting it, in order that a galleon, which was fitting in Cavite, might proceed to her relief. The galiot discovered, near the straits of St. Bernardino, an enemy’s vessel, and not doubting that it was Anson, gave notice to the armed galleon in Cavite, which immediately put to sea, but grounded on the island of Ticao, and made so much water that she was compelled to return. The Cobadonga arrived at the Marianas under charge of a Portuguese pilot, and sailing from thence in perfect confidence of safety, arrived at Cape Espiritu Santo; where the English, upon the alert, and in greater forwardness than it was expected they could be, were waiting with their ship the Centurion, after having refitted her at Canton.
When the Cobadonga perceived the enemy, there was no alternative but to yield, or boldly encounter a superior force. They chose the latter, and fought so desperately, that they did not strike till they had sixty killed and seventy wounded, among the number of which were the first and second captains. Admiral Anson took possession of the vessel and property, amounting to one million five hundred thousand dollars in silver alone, and carried the ship to Macao, where he left the Cobadonga, proceeding to Canton to careen his own ship.
The merchants of Manila felt this loss most severely, and to be revenged, in some measure, requested the Governor to allow them to fit out a squadron with a view of pursuing Anson, and intercepting the China fleet. Four ships were accordingly equipped at the expense of the inhabitants of the town, and Don Antonio Quijano was appointed commander. He arrived at China, but Anson had already sailed for Europe, when not being able to return on account of the monsoon, he wintered at Macao, and without doing any thing returned to Manila the following year. A strict enquiry was instituted before a court martial into the conduct of the commander and officers of the Cobadonga, and on view of the allegations brought against them they were acquitted, and only compelled to pay the charges of the court martial.
In consequence of this capture, however, a ruinous lawsuit commenced between the merchants of Manila and the pious establishments, whose property was embarked in her. The loss was declared total, and there appeared no doubt that the pious establishments were liable to that extent; but it was ascertained that some merchants had left their property in Acapulco, and of course there was no real total loss, as all the produce of the original adventure had not been embarked. The pious establishments, therefore, asserted that their property, or a portion of it, still existed in New Spain. The merchants on the other hand alleged, that if the Cobadonga had arrived at Manila, the risk of the pious establishments would have been at an end, and the merchants must have paid them their original advance, although they must have run the risk of bringing to Manila the property left in New Spain.
The Royal Audience determined this suit in favour of the pious establishments, but the merchants petitioned the council of the Indies, which gave it in their favour. This, as may be supposed, has given rise to several lawsuits in like cases, such diversity of opinion prevailing on the subject, that it were to be wished the system was either wholly abolished, or altered considerably, as it at present gives rise to numberless frauds and impositions, to which the existing laws furnish no check[6].
Don Caspar de la Torre entered with a bad grace on his government, in his violent proceedings against the fiscal, which drew down on him the hatred of the public, and the disasters of this period contributed to inflame their resentment. His whole conduct, indeed, was apparently directed rather to reconcile himself to this prejudice, than to remove it. Convinced of the general disgust against him, he fell into a profound melancholy, followed by dysentery, which is rarely cured in the Philippines. It was aggravated by an account which arrived of a disturbance in the town of Balayan, in the province of Batangas, and he at last fell a sacrifice to a false report which was in circulation, that the Chinese were entering the city, when notwithstanding his illness, he determined to oppose them in person, but was prevented by his friends, who very soon discovered the fallacy of the report. The effect, however, which it had on his frame was such, that he died in a few days after, on the 21st of September, 1745.
Señor Arrechedera, of the order of St. Domingo, bishop elect of Ylocos, succeeded him, conformable to the order of his Majesty. Upon enquiring into the alleged defection of the Chinese, he found no such thing had been even attempted, and that the report had been circulated merely to annoy the Governor. Arrechedera was not slow in quelling the disturbances in Balayan. He sent an officer, with one hundred regular troops, and a considerable body of Indians against the insurgents; and although this officer was not able to disperse them, as the Indians under him fled at the first onset, he succeeded in checking their attack, without having suffered in any other respect than a wound from a musket ball, which he himself received from one of his own new raised recruits. He applied to the Governor for further aid, and two hundred men being added to his force, he attained his object. He left a small detachment in the province to overawe those who might be ill disposed, and the rest of the troops were embarked for Cavite, as accounts had been received that the English had arrived with a squadron at Batavia, and the Alcalde of Ylocos reported, that two ships and two smaller vessels had been seen on that coast, supposed to be enemies. The Governor immediately put Manila into a state of defence, repairing the fortifications, purchasing arms from strangers, and casting cannon. All these preparations, however, proved unnecessary, as the English never appeared, but it was eventually discovered that they had captured a brigantine and another vessel.
Before this time a dreadful persecution commenced against the Christians in the province of Tonquin, and generally in the empire of China. In Tonquin many suffered martyrdom, and among others two Philippine missionaries, the Friars Gil de Federich and Mateo Liciniana, both Dominicans, who had left Manila for the purpose of assisting the missionary establishment which the Dominicans had in China. They were imprisoned separately, and at different times, but they had the happiness, before they died, of being lodged in the same dungeon, where they mutually consoled each other, and by bribing the soldiers who had the charge of them, they were permitted to say mass, and preach and administer the sacrament to the Christians there. In these sacred duties they were occupied continually, until the day on which they were to suffer death for the propagation of the Christian faith, by being bound to a log of wood, and having their heads struck off. This took place at four o’clock in the evening of the 22d of January, 1745. The Christians received their bodies, and delivered them over to the Dominicans, who gave them honourable burial. In the empire of China, the determination of the emperors to oppose the propagation of the Christian religion seemed daily to become stronger, and the Viceroy of Tonquin, who knew that in his province there were many concealed missionaries, persecuted the Christians in every way, in order to induce them to discover them, when, on the imprisonment of several with this view, the missionaries voluntarily came forward and delivered themselves up to the tyrant. There were in all five, of the order of St. Dominic, and belonging to that establishment in the Philippines; viz. the most illustrious Don Friar Pedro Martir Sanz, of the province of Catalonia, Bishop of Mauricastrense, and Apostolical Vicar; the Friars Pedro Francisco Serrano of Jaen; Juan Alcaber of Grenada; Joaquin Royo of Hinojosa, in Aragon; and Francisco Diaz. They were examined frequently, and suffered severely from being beaten and otherwise tormented. The Viceroy at last sentenced Señor Sanz to lose his head immediately, condemning likewise the rest to the same punishment, but deferring their execution till the ordinary time. The court of Pekin confirmed the decree, and immediately it was made known to him; the Señor Sanz rejoiced exceedingly, and sung Te Deum, confessing fully, and waiting impatiently for the period of his becoming a martyr, which took place on the 26th of May, 1747. After a lapse of six months, his body was found as fresh as the day he was beheaded: it was taken up, burnt, reduced to powder, and thrown into a well, that the Christians might not collect his ashes. The other four friars remained in prison, where they were afterwards strangled privately by order of the Viceroy. Many attributed this persecution to the Jesuits, who bore no good will to the Señor Sanz.
Two ships about this period arrived at Manila from Acapulco, very richly laden, bringing the accustomed relief, of which the colony stood much in need, and which gave new life and activity to the whole settlement. By these ships came the new Archbishop Pedro de la Sona Trinidad, who, when counsellor of the Indies, had taken the habit of St. Francis, and now brought with him a royal mandate, for the absolute expulsion of the Chinese, and the appointment of himself as Governor ad interim. This mandate for the expulsion of the Chinese had often before this period been sent to Manila, but had never been carried into execution, the interest of the Governor being too deeply involved in the suspension of it, the Chinese paying him a contribution for his forbearance. The Archbishop found that Arrechedera was strongly attached to this nation, and he became so far a convert to his sentiments on this subject, that he did not put the royal order in force.
This seems to have been the only error committed by this illustrious prelate during the time he held the government. In all other respects his conduct reflected the highest honour on him. An insurrection in the island of Bohol compelled him to send Captain Lechuga there with an adequate force, who succeeded in reducing to obedience all the towns on the sea coast of the island, but in the interior and mountainous parts they retain their independence to this day.
The Jesuits having urged Philip the Fifth to send letters to the Kings of Jolo and Mindanao, the Governor sent ambassadors with these letters, and with proposals either to acknowledge the Spanish government, or to enter into alliance with us. These chiefs were so delighted with the honour which so great a King as that of Spain had thus conferred on them, that they agreed to admit missionaries into their territories. A Jesuit was accordingly sent to Mindanao, but soon observing the little subordination of the chiefs, and the very inadequate power the King possessed to restrain them, he began to entertain apprehensions for his life, forsook his mission, and escaped to the garrison of Zamboanga. In Jolo two Jesuits attempted to enter upon the object of their mission, but were so violently opposed by the Moorish priests, and the chief men in the country, that their progress was very limited.
Under these circumstances the King of Jolo, Mahomet Alimudin, resolved on a visit to the Governor at Manila; but this was opposed by the two Jesuits, on the ground of the ascendancy, which, during his absence, his brother Bantilan would acquire, and who was the determined enemy of the Christian name. The King’s intention being whispered, Bantilan raised such opposition to it in the court, and among the chiefs, that the irritation became general, and the Jesuits consulted their own safety in retiring to Zamboanga. A short time afterwards the King likewise having been attempted to be murdered, fled to Manila to request the aid of the Governor. On his way he arrived at Zamboanga, and by the assistance of the Spaniards proceeded to Manila, which he entered with seventy persons in his train, and was accommodated at the charge of the King. He afterwards made his public entry, was received with great ostentation, and visited by the principal people in Manila, who brought him presents of gold chains, diamonds, ornaments, rich apparel, and many such things of that nature, as might be expected from the generosity of the Spaniards, and himself and suite were supported at the public expense.
The Archbishop was desirous of making him a convert to the Christian faith, a proposal which he embraced apparently with great fervor, and he was accordingly instructed in the leading principles of our holy religion; but as the general idea was, that he felt little attachment to our religion, and only expected by that means to secure our aid in reinstating him on the throne, his baptism was postponed.
This delay mortified the Bishop of Ylocos, who was particularly anxious for it, and not being able to bend the Archbishop to his views, he persuaded the King to go to the town of Panique, the first town in Ylocos, in order to be baptized there, a Spaniard accompanying him to act as godfather. Besides his own he had a Spanish guard, and he was received with distinguished honour in every part through which he passed. In Panique he was baptized by the name of Fernando, with great solemnity, by a Dominican, assisted by many others of that order, on the 29th of April, 1750. On his return to Manila, the Governor received him with a general salute, and ordered entertainments of comedies, dances, fire-works, and bull-fights, in honour of his arrival.
In Jolo, Bantilan, the brother of King Alimudin, assumed the supreme authority, after having compelled his brother to take refuge in Manila. He was the worst enemy the Spaniards ever had, on account of the great depredations he committed on the coasts of all the islands. The Archbishop was extremely desirous of repressing these attacks, but the means he possessed were equally inadequate to this, as insufficient to attempt the reinstatement of the King of Jolo on his throne.
CHAPTER XI.
ANNO DOM. 1750.
The Administration of the Marquis of Obando.
Don Francisco Joseph de Obando, a native of Caceres, in Estremadura, had arrived in the South Sea with a squadron, and was in Lima when the great earthquake happened, by which Callao was swallowed up. On this occasion his exertions obtained the King’s favour, and he was nominated Governor of Manila. He then passed over to Mexico, where he married Doña Barbara Ribadeneyra, and accompanied by her embarked for the Philippines, the government of which he took possession of in the month of July, 1750. The Archbishop, on his arrival, presented him with the King’s despatches, in which his Majesty charged him with the expulsion of the Chinese. A council was summoned in order to discuss the measure, when a difference of opinion arose on the subject, which terminated in totally frustrating the good intentions of his Majesty in respect to the Chinese, notwithstanding the prejudice these his dominions suffered by them. The Archbishop claimed the right of sitting on the left hand of the Governor, on the government seat, and which he was not disposed to accede to; and he claimed likewise the same honours from the officers commanding the guard when he entered the palace, or passed through the gates of the city. These points of etiquette alone were of sufficient importance to suspend the execution of the orders of expulsion of the Chinese from the Philippines. The council was consulted on this controversy, when both points were decided in favour of the Archbishop.
The Royal Audience had likewise a misunderstanding with the Governor, in consequence of his having, on his own authority, given the command of Cavite Castle, ad interim, to Don Domingo Nebra; this appointment being, in point of regularity, always given by the consent of, and after duly consulting the Royal Audience, conformable to his Majesty’s orders. The Governor did not deny this royal order, but alleged, in his own justification, that he could not find any person so well qualified as Nebra for constructing such vessels as were requisite for the commerce of Acapulco, and the defence of the islands against the Moors; that Nebra was seventy years of age, and could not be compelled to undertake the charge of constructing vessels unless he chose it; and that he would by no means accept the employment, if there were any interference of the Royal Audience, because, in such case, he would be obliged to reside at Cavite. An extraordinary case like the present ought not to be subjected to common rules, and he had determined according to what appeared to him most conducive to the interest of his Majesty’s service. The Royal Audience, in reply, made its representations and protests, but finding that the power of the Governor preponderated, they yielded up the point in the mean time, and appealed to his Majesty. Notwithstanding the science of Nebra, however, of which the Governor boasted so much, the ship Pilar, which he careened before her departure for Acapulco, disappeared at sea, and nothing has ever been heard of her since. Another dispute, which made considerable noise, took place at this time in Manila: a lady who had taken the veil in the nunnery of Santa Catalina, under the name Madre Cecilia, had fallen in love with Don Francisco Figueroa, and the vacant seat of government being at that time filled by Señor Arrechedera, Figueroa presented himself to the proper officer, requiring that the profession of Madre Cecilia might be annulled. The Vicar General, not desirous of having any controversies with the Dominican Friars, of whose order the Governor was, advised Figueroa, on this occasion, to say nothing on the subject for the present, but wait a more favourable conjuncture for his pretensions. As soon as the Señor Obando arrived, conceiving that the reason which induced him to refrain no longer existed, he presented himself to the Archbishop, requesting, as he had done before, that the Vicar General should annul the nun’s vows. His Excellency ordered that she should be lodged in the Santa Potenciana; the Dominicans opposed it most strenuously, and appealed to the superior government; but not finding themselves supported in this tribunal, they gave up the point, and delivered her over to the Vicar General, who was charged with the care of her. The cause mean time went on, and the Archbishop decreed, after mature deliberation, that the sanctuary of Santa Catalina being by his Majesty prohibited from being converted into a convent, the Madre Cecilia, who had there made her profession, could not be properly considered a religieuse, and that her profession, therefore, was null and void. The Dominicans appealed to the delegate, who was the Bishop of Zebu; the appeal was admitted, but permission was given her to marry. In order to follow up this appeal, with alacrity, a dignified clergyman was ordered to be despatched, who was capable of opposing the pretensions of Cecilia with effect, for it was concluded that to act otherwise would be to dishonour the sanctuary of Santa Catalina; but this gentleman not being disposed to take charge of so unpleasant a suit, pretended ill health. There was no other of that description in the Philippine Islands to whom they could have recourse, in consequence of which they laid the cause before the Archbishop of Mexico, who received it, and cited the Madre Cecilia to appear before his tribunal, ordering her to be sent to Mexico to answer the plea, and receive sentence.
As the appeal, however, was not allowed to operate to the suspension of matrimony, Cecilia contracted marriage, and with her husband embarked for Mexico, where it was decided that the marriage should be considered as valid, and of course the profession declared to be annulled. This decision having reached the council of the Indies, it was ordered that the sanctuary of Santa Catalina should be abolished, on the decease of all the religious then existing in it, which, however, was not observed, the Dominicans having obtained a reversal of the order.
The Governor having received information of new depredations committed by the Moors in the Bisaya provinces, determined to fit out an efficient force, which might not only attain this object, but likewise re-establish the throne of Jolo in Don Fernando Alimudin, who had been unjustly deprived of it, and whom he had found, on his arrival at Manila, converted to Christianity.
On this last point, indeed, there was a diversity of opinion, for many thought that his fidelity could not be relied on, and that the very first opportunity which offered he would be guilty of treachery, as his ancestors had been. It was, however, determined in favour of the expatriated King, and he was conducted to Jolo in the Admiral’s ship of the squadron, which sailed from Cavite, under the command of Colonel Quian, who was charged with both commissions. The squadron arrived at Zamboanga, with the exception of the Admiral’s ship, which not appearing, and that the monsoon might not be lost, or time allowed to the Moors to fortify themselves, the armament sailed from that port on the 13th of June, 1751, and on the 20th came to anchor in the harbour of Jolo, one mile distant from the fortification of the enemy. The attack was immediately commenced, and so panic-struck were the Moorish commanders, that they directly entered into a treaty, and signed an instrument, binding themselves to obedience to the King, and to conduct themselves as faithful subjects, and also engaging to deliver up to the Spaniards all the captive Christians which might be then in the island. With this treaty the Colonel returned in nine days to Zamboanga, carrying with him two sampans with Chinese, whom he found there acting as merchants, and whom he made prisoners, under the pretext that they had sold a cannon to the Joloese, our enemies, with whom we had just made peace. The Admiral’s ship had been delayed by a storm, and was detained in Calapan repairing the rudder, which was the occasion of his not arriving at Zamboanga until the 25th of July, but the King of Jolo, impatient at such delay, embarked, accompanied by two carracoas, and had arrived twelve days before.
Notwithstanding his diligence, the Governor of Zamboanga entertained much doubt of his fidelity, and having taken charge of two letters, one of which he had written, by order of the Governor of Manila, to the King of Mindanao, and the one letter being in the vulgar tongue, and the other in Arabic, a language which he had acquired in Batavia, where he had been some time, it excited a curiosity to know what the King had said in that language so totally in disuse in our islands. Accordingly a person was procured to translate the letter, and the contents were found to be, that he (the King) had written the other letter in obedience to the commands of the Governor of Manila, and that he could not do otherwise than obey, as he was in the power of a stranger.
To the suspicion attached to this was added another circumstance: a brother of his, named Asin, together with the chiefs of Jolo, who had capitulated with the Colonel, and agreed to receive their King, and deliver up the Christian captives, paid a visit to Zamboanga, and in addition to their bringing with them no captives whatever, they were charged with having introduced arms to surprise the government. The Governor, upon the strength of this charge, immediately confined the King, together with Asin, and those who accompanied him: his house was searched, but only a few arms were found, quite insufficient to induce a belief that he intended any thing against the government; but many other effects were found concealed in his prison, and various informations and memoranda which he had sent to the Moors, justified the suspicions entertained of him. In corroboration of all this, the Admiral and two passengers declared, that the King was on very bad terms with the Manila people, of whom he had received so many attentions and services, and that on all occasions he manifested his ingratitude. That he had said the new Governor detained him prisoner; that he had given no proofs of being a Christian, for he slept every night with his concubines; that he never heard mass; and that he even stripped off the crosses from the rosaries of the family he resided with; and, lastly, that he had become an apostate, by making a Mahometan sacrifice at Calapan, where he had killed a goat, divided it into twelve portions, with many superstitious ceremonies, and distributed it to his companions to eat, by way of celebrating the passover.
The Governor of Zamboanga communicated these proceedings to the government at Manila, requesting instructions for the regulation of his conduct in respect to the seizure of the Sultan and his family; and the result was an order for his being sent to Manila with all his people. War was likewise immediately declared against the Joloese. Letters of marque and reprisal were granted to whomever might apply for them, and all prize-money was given up arising from captures, together with the liberty of detaining the persons of their prisoners as slaves. So firm, indeed, was the determination of our government to exterminate the Moors, that a general absolution was conceded to all those who should present themselves to serve against them. The armament at Zamboanga, under the command of the Colonel, was reinforced, and a second expedition was undertaken to Jolo, still more unfortunate in its results than the first: for having attempted to disembark in that island, they were received by the Moors with so much spirit, that they were obliged to retire with considerable loss, and with great disgrace and ignominy to the Spanish arms.
The haughty Bantilan, who governed the kingdom of Jolo in the absence of his brother, proud of the victory he had obtained against the Spaniards, began to treat with the inhabitants of Mindanao, to induce them to break with us, and molest us as much as in their power: and he persuaded all the pirates among those islands to exert themselves against the Spaniards, representing them as conquered, and in great dread of his arms. The consequence was, that the seas were covered with Moorish armaments, which spread desolation in every quarter.
Nothing was heard of but the robberies, burnings, captures of ships, imprisonments, and insults which our provinces experienced from the Moors. So that Señor Obando was resolved to proceed in person against them, and endeavour to remove the dreadful evils to which we were exposed.
His Majesty had given orders that an establishment should be formed in the island of Paragua, to shut out the pirates from that quarter, in the same manner as they were from Zamboanga. To proceed with due regularity in this respect, the governor despatched an ambassador to the King of Borneo, to induce him to cede to us the claim he held to part of that island, which, being granted, a squadron was sent there to erect the proposed station, and to cruize against the Moors, who infested the islands. He was desirous of taking the command of this expedition in person, and consulted the Royal Audience on the subject, who were of opinion that it would not be proper to expose himself, and that, by confiding it to some other person, and sending an engineer to make the necessary arrangements for forming the establishment in the island of Paragua, every thing might be done which the public good required. In conformity to this advice he named Don Antonio Fabea to the command of this expedition, who proceeded from Port Cavite with eleven sail of armed vessels, taking with him Don Manuel Aguirre, who went as governor of the proposed new establishment. He received orders in passing by Igolote, in the same island, to dislodge the Moors, who were the only possessors of that part of it; but here, sickness prevailing to a great extent in the armament, they merely took possession of the island, and returned to Manila, leaving behind them two hundred and seventy dead, and bringing many more invalids in the squadron. The King of Jolo had by this time arrived at Manila, and was imprisoned in the fort of Saint Jago, to the great satisfaction of all those who had opposed his baptism, and who always doubted his fidelity; but he obtained permission from the Governor for his daughter, Fatima, who was also a prisoner with him, to go to Jolo, and to carry letters to his brother, and other principal persons, in order to bring about a peace with the Spaniards; and for this indulgence he bound himself to deliver up fifty captive Christians. The princess fulfilled the engagement, brought over the fifty captives, and induced her uncle, Bantilan, to send an ambassador to Manila, to treat on all matters relative to her father. This envoy brought powers to negociate in concert with the King for peace with the Governor; and in confirmation of such powers, he bound himself to observe whatever terms were acceded to by them.
It was accordingly stipulated with the King and the Ambassador, that the Moors of Jolo should deliver up all the Christian captives who might be found in the island. That they should return all the arms they had taken from the Spaniards, and the ornaments of which they had pillaged the churches; and in order to have the treaty ratified, liberty was granted to one of the chief officers, who was confined with the King, to go to Jolo in company with the ambassador whom Bantilan had sent over. The Governor put very little confidence either in the promises or the treaty of the Moors, for they have never observed them, but have broken them with the same facility with which they made them. He therefore fitted out a strong squadron to compel them by force to a due observation of their engagements, as it was not otherwise to be expected.
His precautions were not in vain, for in the very same year of 1754, the greatest irruption took place which these islanders ever made into the Philippines. They entered with fire and sword in all directions, murdering the religious orders, Indians and Spaniards, burning and robbing towns, and making prisoners of thousands of Christians, not only in the islands near to Jolo, but in all our dominions, even the provinces in the immediate neighbourhood of Manila.
The fleet sailed which had been prepared to oppose them; but before any thing could be done, the four years of Obando’s government expired. His successor arrived, and the Marquis left these islands in the most deplorable situation in which they were ever known. The causes of these evils were either his own ill management, the incapacity of those he employed, or, perhaps, misfortune. What we are certain of is, that the period of his residence here was most calamitous. Yet, we must say, he had many great difficulties to encounter.
The following year he embarked in the galleon Santissima Trinidad for Acapulco, and died on his passage, without ever reaching New Spain.
CHAPTER XII.
ANNO DOM. 1754.
The Administration of Don Pedro Manuel de Arandia.
Don Pedro Manuel de Arandia, a native of Ceuta, and a Biscayan by descent, took possession of his government in July, 1754, and as soon as he arrived at Manila, he lost no time in adopting the regulations observed in Spain for putting the military on a more respectable footing.
The royal regiment, which consisted of two battalions, he formed into a corps of artillery, putting it into the state in which we now find it, and granted to the soldiers, as well as the officers, a pay sufficient to maintain themselves with decency, and perform their duty without the necessity of having recourse to any other employment for their support. He took great pains, likewise, in improving the arsenal of Cavite, and the situation and consequence of the officers of that establishment; in doing which he incurred the disapprobation and ill-will of many, to whom such reform and zeal was highly injurious.
In the commencement of his government, in the month of December, there happened a terrible shock of an earthquake, and the Taal, which is in the middle of the Lake Bombon, in the province of Batangas, threw out such an immense quantity of cinders, as completely to ruin four towns which were situated near the lake, and the inhabitants found it necessary to retire a league further into the interior. Many other severe shocks followed, accompanied by loud reports similar to those of contending squadrons, and the atmosphere was entirely obscured by the sand and ashes thrown up by the volcano, so that at Manila, which is twenty leagues distant, it was scarcely possible to see even in the middle of day; and at Cavite, which is rather nearer, the obscurity resembled the darkness of midnight.
I ascended, with the Señor Alava, to the summit of this volcano, but all that we could observe was a lake, about half a league in diameter, very deep, and containing water of a dark green colour.
The fleet which Señor Obando had despatched against the Moors was so ill conducted, that it was found necessary to take the command from Don Miguel Valdos, who had been sent in that capacity, and give it to the Friar Ducos, a Jesuit, from whose conduct a more favourable result was expected. So effectually did that father conduct the expedition, and with such valour and prudence, that he took from the enemy more than one hundred and fifty sail of vessels, destroyed three towns, killed and made prisoners an immense number of people, and completely checked the impetuous spirit of those barbarians.
These happy tidings arrived at Manila in January, 1755. Señor Arandia gave orders that Te Deum should be sung as a thanksgiving, and confirmed the command of the squadron to the Friar Ducos, whom he very much esteemed, being the son of a colonel of his intimate acquaintance, and appearing to have inherited his father’s military talents.
The King of Jolo experienced from the Governor the most kind and compassionate treatment, and he granted him his liberty, although he continued voluntarily to reside in the fort of Saint Jago. He settled a revenue on him of fifty dollars per month, besides six measures of rice for his maintenance, and persuaded the Archbishop to grant him permission to hear mass, and receive the sacrament, of which he had been deprived.
The King was desirous of marrying a woman who had been his concubine, and had already become a Christian. The Archbishop was not inclined to consent; but Arandia not only removed every difficulty, but allowed him the use of his palace, in order that the marriage might be celebrated with more solemnity and grandeur.
These arrangements were not made without some dispute with the Archbishop; and at the same time another circumstance, although of no great importance in itself, proved sufficient to occasion a great sensation in the islands.
Arandia had complained to the Archbishop, that the bells were not rung when he entered or left the church as they ought to be, he being the representative of his Majesty. It was in reply, the Archbishop alleged, that no royal order existed to that effect; and these contests on points of etiquette, added to the indisposition under which this prelate laboured, which produced his death on the 29th of May, 1755.
The Governor continued his kind attentions to the King of Jolo, as it appeared to him the best mode of putting an end to hostility with the Moors. He sent thither all the Princes and Princesses, and all the women which had been detained by them, the King only remaining at Manila, who presented repeated petitions for release, and engaged, in the most solemn manner, to conform to the decision of the court of Madrid respecting the cause of his detention.
The Princes and Princesses arrived at Jolo the 5th of October of this year, and they were well received by Bantilan, who being highly pleased with the generosity of the Governor, promised faithfully to observe the treaties of peace which his brother and his Ambassador had signed at Manila. Entirely to put an end to hostilities, it was requisite to have an understanding with the inhabitants of Mindanao. Ambassadors were accordingly sent over, but so numerous are the petty Kings in those islands, and so treacherous, that it was found impossible to establish a durable peace with them. Even admitting that all the chiefs were desirous of strictly observing pacific terms with the Spaniards, they have so little power over their vassals, that they have never been able to restrain them within due bounds. That kind of predatory life having become habitual to them, nothing but a spiritual conquest of their provinces will protect us from the persecuting spirit of these troublesome neighbours.
The government now thought of establishing missionaries in the Batan islands, which lie to the north of Cagayan. Formerly there had been Dominican friars settled in the island of Babuyanes, who employed themselves in instructing the inhabitants in the Christian duties; but in the year 1690 they returned to Cagayan, upon the order of the chief to quit the country. The father who conducted them immediately established a mission in the Batan islands, about thirty leagues from Cagayan, but after his death his companions retired, abandoning the mission until the year 1718, at which period another Dominican friar re-established it, fixing his residence in the island of Calayan, to which he endeavoured to induce the inhabitants of the adjoining islands to repair for instruction in our faith. But whatever might be the inclination of the Batanians to become converts, only one hundred and fifty persons found resolution to change their residence, and of these one half died in a very little time. That island, indeed, afforded but very few resources, in consequence of which the missionary friar fell sick, and although a successor was appointed, the mission was eventually abandoned.
In the year 1754 the idea was resumed, and two friars were sent for the purpose, of which one died immediately, and the other retired to Cagayan very seriously indisposed, but returned again the succeeding year with a brother friar; and in order to guard against the miseries which they had suffered the preceding year, they determined to take with them a carpenter, who was a lay brother, for the erection of a house and accommodations immediately on their arrival, the materials for which they proposed to have ready prepared for the purpose. Their zeal, however, would not permit them to wait until the materials for the house could be finished, and fearful lest the monsoon should be lost, they embarked without them.
They had scarcely arrived at Cagayan, when they both fell sick; two other friars went to their aid, and they also fell sick, as did all who followed, and it became absolutely necessary to abandon the attempt after the Dominicans had incurred very heavy expenses to effect the object. In the year 1783, Señor Basco again undertook this conquest; and at length we have succeeded in establishing the Dominicans there, who employ themselves strenuously in the conversion of the inhabitants of these islands.
A Governor was appointed with an assistant, and great expense was incurred in support of the establishment, as it was necessary to send almost every thing from the Philippines, all those islands producing little else than a species of potatoe, and some other objects of as little value.
There is no doubt that other productions might be reared, but the rats are so numerous that they consume every thing, and very frequently the hurricanes destroy the seeds before they come to perfection. Every year a vessel was sent to carry the necessary supplies to the establishment, but as these hurricanes are very frequent, and many of the vessels were shipwrecked, it became fully ascertained that it would be impossible to maintain the station, and it was determined that only the Dominican friars should remain there, with a small escort, which was to be relieved from Cagayan as occasion might require. On Señor Basco the title of Conde de Conquista was bestowed, as a reward for his exertions in this undertaking; but it is very certain that if half the money which was thus expended in Batanes had been applied in the appointment and support of missionaries in Ylocos, Pangasinan, and Cagayan, his Majesty would have acquired many more subjects, and with much less risk.
It is matter of astonishment that we should have quitted the old beaten track of employing precautionary and pacific measures for the conquest of the Indians, and have recourse to arms and expensive expeditions, merely because they make more noise, and appear more splendid: a proof of the insufficiency of these appeared on the following occasion in the mountains of the Igorrotes. In the year 1740, the Augustine friars had delivered over to the Dominicans the missions of Ytuy, or Ysinay, so that in conjunction with the missionaries of Panique, who had been established there the year before, the provinces of Pangasinan and Cagayan, by the south side, might be united. The Indians, Christians as well as Infidels, took umbrage at this alteration in the establishments, and a kind of civil war among them was the consequence, so that the Oidors Don Ignacio Azardun, and Señor Rebolledo, who were then inspecting the province of Pangasinan, deeming it necessary, sent troops to quell these disturbances. But a few years afterwards fresh discontents on the same account arose; and in the year 1756, many of the Christians became apostates, and, uniting with the Infidels, were guilty of the greatest excesses. They burnt several churches, murdered a great many of those who retained their attachment to Christianity, and losing all respect for the missionary fathers, they diligently sought their lives. This induced Señor Arandia to despatch an expedition in aid of the missionaries, to the mountains of the Igorrotes, which proved of very little effect; for the only purpose it answered was to drive the Indians to the recesses, from whence they again issued on the retreat of our forces. To attain the best mode of civilizing the Indians, it is necessary to know well their character and disposition: either from their turn of mind, which is naturally superstitious, or because Heaven wills it so, they are in general very much attached to the missionary fathers, and hold them in great respect; but notwithstanding this, as may be expected, there will be some bold enough to conceive enmity against them, and for this reason military stations, or escorts, become necessary for their protection. Occasionally a mutinous disposition will be shown, and a whole multitude will declare against the fathers, from which unhappy consequences might arise, did not the different military stations scattered through the country afford a check to such disposition. By means of such cautionary, rather than splendid establishments, these islands were originally subdued, and these in many parts still exist; but the missionaries being very few in number, it often becomes necessary to make a journey of a whole day, when confession or other ecclesiastical rites are to be administered. In addition to this, they are but very poorly paid; for what is one hundred dollars, and two hundred measures of rice, for the maintenance of a Spaniard on these missions?
This very small stipend is insufficient to cover their expenses, and they are exposed to every privation, without the enjoyment of any one comfort. Of all this our magistrates are the cause, many of them seeking various pretexts for withholding the stipends, and even obliging the fathers to go to the capital to receive them, as I have myself seen. Such is the misery these poor friars undergo, that at times they are compelled to subsist on what is allowed them for their escorts, and live without that protection, rather preferring to be exposed to the insults of those heathens, than to perish through hunger. The military stations are also very thinly scattered, and the loyal Indians very incapable of imposing any restraint on their countrymen.
If what has been expended in vain and fruitless expeditions had been employed in these certain means of civilization, much more progress would have been made. It is true that we never can expect such rapid progress as our ancestors made in the conquest, because the Indians are more enlightened. Even the Christian converts persuade them not to be baptized, that they may avoid the payment of tribute or other imposts. The custom, too, of one tribe revenging the murder of an individual of that tribe upon the tribe of the murderer, very much impedes conversion, and consequently civilization, for from hence results the necessity of the weakest tribes changing their residence, or forming a confederacy with others. In such case Christianity must suffer, for the baptized Indians must always follow the Infidels of their tribe, and be alienated from the fathers, or be exposed to constant hostility. Nothing but the extension of protection, and the gradual dissemination of our religious tenets, will abolish this sanguinary custom. The Christian morality is so salutary in its effects, as to extract vice from every heart, in which it has not taken too deep a root.
On the 15th of May, 1757, the Holy See passed a decree, which put an end to the controversies which existed in the kingdom of Tonquin, between the Dominicans, Augustines, and other followers of the cross, but it is unimportant to our purpose. Returning to the affairs of Manila. One of the good things which Señor Arandia effected during his administration, was the expulsion of the Chinese. He despatched all these heathens to their own country; and in order to prevent them in future from settling in the Philippines, he appropriated the quarter of St. Fernando for the reception of such Chinese as should come upon commercial pursuits, and who by the regulations established were to re-embark in due time, with the exception of such Christians as might be among their number, who were permitted to remain, and apply themselves to the cultivation of the land. The Spaniards who interested themselves in the residence of the Chinese in Manila, represented to the Governor that there would be a want of people to carry on the trade with the islands if they were expelled; and to obviate this difficulty, he established a company of native Spaniards and Mestizoes for that purpose, which, however, was found very incompetent to the task. The Asiatics being naturally very slothful, and consequently very fond of that kind of employment which procures subsistence without much labour, attain their object by buying and selling such things as are raised here, or imported from the adjacent islands for the consumption of the capital; and as they are poor miserable creatures, each has a very narrow and limited traffic, but there is scarcely one of them who does not employ himself very diligently. This superabundance of petty merchants makes the goods come very dear, because they pass through many hands before they reach those of the consumer, and as they turn but a very small capital, it is necessary they should each make a profit adequate to their maintenance; from all which it may be inferred, that far from there being too few Chinese in this trade, their number ought to be considerably reduced.
Notwithstanding the wisdom of this measure, Señor Arandia lost much of that esteem in which he had been held, and by this and other means drew on him the odium of the public. By virtue of the full powers with which he was invested by the court, he framed instructions for the chief magistrates in the government of the provinces, in which an open declaration was made against the regular clergy. In the commencement of his authority he had treated the religious orders with due attention, but hurt at the disrespect shewn to him by some individuals, he deprived them by these instructions of their kitchen boys, which the King had granted them ever since the conquest, and of the servants which had been allowed them as sacristans. Not satisfied with these injuries, he made many representations against them to his Majesty, in which he spoke of them with very little decorum, and in his despatches lost no opportunity of vilifying them even in matters not at all connected with their clerical duties. The instructions here alluded to the King had the goodness to disapprove of, as soon as he saw them. With the Royal Audience, likewise, he had a dispute, in consequence of his refusal to allow them military honours during their sittings, unless he himself presided. He imprisoned and commenced a process against the treasurer and comptroller of the royal revenue, and treated them with great severity, because they had communicated information to the court on some points very opposite to his communications on the same subjects. Indefatigable in the discharge of his duty, he formed many projects which he conceived to be of importance to the welfare of the settlement. It was his intention to remove the arsenal of Cavite to Port Lampon. He ordered a ship to be built in the kingdom of Siam; but, unfortunately, in conducting her to Manila, she put three times into China, and once into Batavia, incurring by this means an enormous expense on the treasury. He proposed to the King various plans for working the iron and gold mines. He abolished the office of Corregidor of Mariveles, uniting Marigondon and other small towns to the district of Cavite, and forming of the towns on the opposite coast, and of others belonging to Pampanga, the district which we call Batan. He introduced many regulations among the troops, and for the better management of the royal revenue and the affairs of the Acapulco ship, giving on all occasions many proofs of his zeal for his Majesty’s service, with which he appeared animated, perhaps, to a degree of enthusiasm; and which having been mismanaged by his favourite, Señor Orendain, had been the cause of his being universally disliked. All these objects occasioned so much fatigue to Arandia that he became incapable of any kind of business, and such a rapid decline in his vital powers took place, that on the 31st of May, 1759, apprehending his approaching death, he took all the sacraments, and expired the following day at two o’clock in the morning. He left a property to the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and it was difficult to conceive how he had amassed so much money in the short period of five years, during which his government lasted; but at the hour of his death he distributed his property, like a pious man and a Christian.
On the death of Arandia, Señor Espelata, Bishop of Zebu, entered, ad interim, upon the government; and shortly after there arrived at Manila the new Archbishop, Don Manuel Roxo, native of Tala, in the kingdom of New Spain. His Majesty had promoted him from the Vicar Generalship of Mexico to this See, ordering him to be consecrated in New Spain. He took possession of his charge on the 22d of July, 1759, and immediately preferred his claim to hold the military government of the islands, which he contended belonged to him by royal order. The four Oidors were divided in opinion; the Señores Calderon and Davila thinking the Archbishop in the right, and the Señores Villacorta and Galban being of a different way of thinking. While in the hall discussing this subject, Espelata entered, delivered his sentiments with firmness and resolution, and to intimidate them prepared the artillery, and put the troops under arms. This determined conduct induced the Oidors and the Archbishop to give up the point, and the Bishop of Zebu remained in quiet possession. The first thing he did was to revoke many orders of Señor Arandia, and to make some arrangements for checking the Moors, who, since the year 1754, had been ravaging our provinces with impunity. But what occupied the public attention most in his time was the cause of Doctor Orendain. The doctor was accused of being the cause of Arandia’s mismanagement of public affairs, and that the Royal Fiscal, Señor Viana, had been by his suggestion confined to his house. Orendain, either through remorse of conscience, or because he dreaded some attempt against his person, took refuge in the Augustine convent at Tondo. As the doctor was treasurer of the Cruzada, the Royal Fiscal took up the idea that his voluntary retreat into a sanctuary indicated his being in debt to the Royal revenue, and on this ground he was taken from his asylum, imprisoned in Fort Santiago, and Señor Villa Corta was ordered to proceed against him. It was found that he had secreted many valuable effects in the convents; but whilst they were employed in this scrutiny, he escaped from the fortress dressed in woman’s clothes, going out in a coach, without being recognized by the guard, and took refuge in the Franciscan convent. Villa Corta had recourse to the Vicar General for an order to take him out, which being refused on three different applications, a notary and some troops were sent to take him by force. The Vicar General declared Villa Corta excommunicated, and issued handbills to that effect. This gentleman had recourse to the Royal Audience, who ordered the Vicar General to absolve him, which he did by means of the Curate of the cathedral, but only in a temporary way, and for the space of thirty days; that is, that if in thirty days the defendant did not return within the pale of the church, the excommunication would again be in force. Señor Villa Corta protested against the conduct of the Vicar General, and so entangled was this cause, that the Judges opposed each other, and even Calderon and Davila were opposed by the King’s Solicitor, who had received briefs on the occasion, and the point remained undetermined, some being unwilling to undertake it, and others entertaining opposite opinions upon it. Such was the position of Orendain’s business when the royal despatches arrived, in which the Archbishop was appointed Governor ad interim, in consequence of the death of Señor Arandia. He took the baton of government in the year 1761, and determined this famous cause, ordering Orendain to be set at liberty, all his property to be restored to him, and imposing on all perpetual silence on the subject. For this decision Orendain was indebted to his being treasurer of the Cruzada, and his Majesty was satisfied with the issue of the business. The Archbishop administered public affairs rather with the paternal solicitude of a father than the rigour of a Governor, composing all individual differences, and extending his friendly care even to the King of Jolo, who lived in the fortress under considerable privations. He removed him to a house in Manila, decently fitted up, and allowed him a carriage and a sufficiency of domestics for his service. In addition to this, he was desirous of re-establishing him on the throne; and having taken the opinion of the principal persons of Manila, it was determined that he should be re-conducted to Jolo, with his son Israel, and that he should have a Spanish guard with him, in order that the chiefs of his island might not oblige him to abjure the Catholic faith, which he had embraced under the name of Fernando. Just at the period of putting all this in execution the English appeared before the place, but the importance of this event renders it necessary to be treated of in distinct chapters.