The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 14 of 55 / 1606-1609 / Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of The Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century

by Unknown

Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe III

On the Confraternity of la Misericordia

Your Majesty gives commands in a letter dated the seventeenth of April, 1606, for information to be sent regarding the nature of the Confraternity of La Misericordia of this city, when and with what official license it was organized, its constitution, the amount of its income and the manner in which the income is distributed, the good results which have followed from the establishment of the Confraternity, and what are its constitutions [i.e., rules of organization]. Your Majesty also asks that a copy of these constitutions be sent, and information as to whether the present income of the Confraternity is sufficient for its purposes, and whether some grant may properly be made to it; and, if so, the amount and form of grant that would be suitable—so that your Majesty may be furnished with full information on the whole matter. Since, as has been stated, the departure of these vessels is so near at hand, a copy of the constitutions of the Confraternity is not sent, but a summary of them, which is enclosed. Your Majesty will see by this abstract that the works to which this Confraternity is dedicated are those of great charity and of service to God our Lord. To all such works it attends with great fervor, using the charitable gifts which are bestowed for this purpose. Although this Audiencia asked the brethren of the Confraternity to make a statement of the manner in which your Majesty might make them a grant, and as to the amount thereof, they were unable to discover any way in which the grant could be made; nor could this Audiencia perceive any, so much exhausted and indebted is the treasury of your Majesty. Accordingly, your Majesty may make such grant as shall please your Majesty, which will be well employed by them, and much to the service of God and your Majesty. [In the margin: “There is no answer. Let a copy of this section be given to the secretary, Señor Contreras, that he may know the deliberations and decree.”]

The activity of the Confraternity of La Misericordia in this city began fourteen years ago. At that time the governor associated with himself some twelve of the chief persons here, and they gave every week from their own households what was necessary for the support of widows, the poor, persons in secret distress, and others in pressing need. This they continued to do until they received the rules governing the Confraternity in the city of Lisboa, where it was first established. By these rules they have been governed ever since, the number of brethren being now a hundred and fifty.

1. In the first place, knowing that women, both Spanish and mestizas, suffered greatly in case of sickness, for lack of a hospital in which to be treated, the Confraternity determined to establish one, which is still called the hospital of La Misericordia. They bought land and erected a building with the money given in alms; and they pay the expense of keeping a physician and a surgeon, of medicines, and of the maintenance of two Franciscan religious, who administer the sacraments and care for the welfare of the souls of the patients. In addition, the Confraternity has made up for the lack of a hospital for slaves by setting apart some rooms where slaves go to be cared for, and are attended to with special care of both their bodies and their souls.

2. The principal matter to which the Confraternity gave its attention from the first was the succor of needy persons who committed themselves to its protection—as widows, married persons, orphans, cripples, and deserted persons of good life. To them the Confraternity give what is necessary for their daily support. This matter is attended to once a week by two brethren who give them aid in their own houses, within and without the walls of the city, doing the work with all the secrecy in the world. Upon this are spent weekly sixty or seventy pesos, more or less, according to the amount of contributions received.

3. The Confraternity has always attended to the support of the poor in the prison. A brother is assigned to this duty, who causes food for the poor prisoners to be prepared daily at his own house, and takes care to have it sent to them with great regularity. He also provides the said prison with water sufficient for the prisoners, which is their greatest want.[1] Thus they alleviate the misery of the prisoners. The said prison is always attended by one of the brethren of high station, that he may attend to the care and prompt decision of the cases of poor prisoners.

4. This Confraternity attends to providing a shelter for the daughters of poor conquistadors and colonists, and for other women whom they consider thus in need; and has placed them in a seminary in this city, supporting them there until they enter the married state, and then it gives them assistance according to their rank.

5. The Confraternity takes great care to place orphan boys where they may be cared for, and to protect them. Those who desire to give themselves to exercises of virtue and learning it places in a college of the Society of Jesus, paying for each one a hundred pesos for his board.

6. The Confraternity also aids with clothing, which it collects from charitable persons, which the said brethren give to both men and women, who would suffer greatly without this assistance and care, from lack of clothes. Many women would not go to mass for lack of cloaks and other things needed, if this alms were not given them.

7. It gives aid to many sick persons who, as incurable and beyond remedy, are discharged from the royal hospital—the physicians directing them, if they wish to recover, to go to certain baths about twelve leguas from the city.[2] They are assisted to do this, that they may recover their health.

8. Every week when they hold their meeting and assembly they give assistance to many persons who do not receive continued assistance, and they also aid many who are on their way to Nueva España—discharged ensigns, sergeants, and soldiers. These are assisted in proportion to their rank, as their need and their service to your Majesty are known.

9. The Confraternity has also given aid outside of this city, by sending to the provinces of Pintados much aid to the Portuguese, of both the higher and the lower classes, who by the destruction of Maluco and Ambueno by the Dutch have been obliged to come to these regions with their families and households. Without this assistance they would have suffered severer privations.

10. It has undertaken to provide persons to go [i.e., to the scaffold] with those who suffer under the law, and to bury them; and it takes up the dismembered bodies of those who have suffered, and the bodies of the drowned, burying them in consecrated ground with much care, and showing honor to their bodies and bones, thus greatly edifying the natives.

11. It attends with the necessary secrecy to securing reconciliations between persons at enmity—sometimes of husbands with their wives, and sometimes between other persons; and thus the brethren bring to an end many evils and prevent injuries. They likewise correct many persons of vices of which they have secret knowledge, which without doubt greatly redounds to the service of God our Lord.

12. It attends to the execution of many wills, which are entrusted to it by persons who leave their property to be distributed for pious works and for chaplaincies. Leaving the matter in the care of this Confraternity, they feel certain that their trusts will be executed forever. It is a great consolation to them to know that the execution has been accepted by the Confraternity. In particular, the execution of the wills of poor persons who leave heirs in Nueva España and España, and in Yndia, is accepted by the Confraternity.

13. All of these works of charity are performed by the said Confraternity from the alms which are received from the citizens, from the brethren, and from persons who at death leave them bequests because they see how well is allotted and spent that which is collected. The income is obtained with much pains, because of the smallness of the population. Should your Majesty make a grant to the Confraternity, it could accomplish more in caring for cases of need which every day occur, requiring aid and claiming pity.

Pedro Hurtado Desquivel, clerk of court.

This is an accurate copy of the original section:

Juan Lopez de Hernani

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[1] Cf. “Foundation of the Audiencia,” Vol. VI, p. 37, sec. 295.

[2] Referring to the famous hot springs and health resort of Los Baños, situated on the southern coast of Laguna de Bay, thirty-five miles from Manila, at the foot of the volcanic mountains Maquiling and Los Baños. See Chirino’s account of these springs, in chap. X of his Relacion (Vol. XII of this series). Cf. the more detailed accounts by La Concepcion (Hist. de Philipinas, iv, pp. 134–151), Zuñiga (Estadismo, i, pp. 180–185), and Buzeta and Bravo (Diccionario, ii, pp. 168–179). The virtues of these waters were first made known by St. Pedro Bautista, the noted Franciscan martyr (Vol. VIII, p. 233), in the year 1590; and he undertook to found there a hospital, but for lack of means this project languished until 1604, when it was duly organized, under the charge of a Franciscan lay brother, Fray Diego de Santa Maria. Various grants were made to this institution, at different times, by colonial and local authorities; and in 1671 large and suitable buildings of stone were erected—which, however, were destroyed by fire in 1727. The hospital seems to have retrograded, in extent and management, early in its history; Zúñiga found it in very poor condition, at the end of the eighteenth century. See chapter on “Minero-medicinal waters” of the islands in U.S. Philippine Commission’s Report, 1900, iii, pp. 217–227.