The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 23 of 55 / 1629-30 / 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

Chapter XXIX

Of the second election of our father Fray Diego Alvarez

Father Fray Diego de Alvarez left so good an estimation of himself during the three years of his service as provincial, and governed with so great prudence, that so great a desire for his rule was aroused that, upon the arrival of the time assigned by our rules, the fathers did not wish to make any new trials of conditions which, although in appearance good, afterwards are found deceitful. They had had experience of the prudence of father Fray Diego Alvarez, and accordingly reelected him so that they might enjoy him for the second time; for in truth he had been a father to them. Hence he was elected unanimously, May 6, 1593. His election was very favorably received in the islands, for he was always much loved by his own and by others; and he always showed great judgment, preserving the province during his two trienniums in that flower and rigor of devotion which it had at first, and also glorifying the province with the new inauguration of houses and convents.

He established a religious in Pototan, a village then ruined;[134] and that village, as it was so small, was united, above Suagui, with another called Baong.[135] Accordingly, a church was built there. This convent of Baong had more than one thousand Indians, and was a well-known place for recreation; but now, although it endures, it has but six hundred Indians. As it is remote from trade, and situated inland, residence there is regarded as exile. It is one day’s journey from Dumangás, and its river empties into that of Alaguer.

This chapter also established religious in Sibucao, a matter of one legua from the Suagui River, up the river Alaguer. The road also turned from Dumangás by ascending the river, although by land the journey is shorter. This convent was very well located here, for, in short, it is within sight of so gloomy[136] a river, and very convenient for the religious. Afterward the fathers thought that they were acting wisely in moving the convent one-half day’s journey inland to a village called Laglag, very inconvenient for the religious. But indeed it is apparent how the fathers of former days sought rather the comfort of the natives than their own convenience; accordingly, wherever they found the most people, there they went. This convent has more than one thousand Indians, and two religious live there ordinarily. It is one of the good convents of the province of Bisayas, and has a wooden church.[137]

The bishop of Sugbú, Don Fray Pedro de Agurto, bestowed the district of Salog upon the province, as I have said before. It is very near the port and fort of Ilong-ilong. It is an excellent port, and has now been improved through becoming the property of his Majesty. This convent has more than one thousand Indians in charge, and generally has two religious. Its chief center is on the coast, or rather, near the coast, on a fine river, and its visitas are inland.

Religious were established also in the village of Octóng, one of the chief villages of the Bisayas. That convent has a vote, and is in charge of more than one thousand two hundred Indians.[138] It is one-eighth legua from the village of Arévalo. This village was well inhabited, and the people spread along that coast. The Dutch burned it once, as well as the convents of Salog and Tigbauan; but it was rebuilt, better than ever. In regard to the people along the coast, they have diminished greatly, for the ravages [of pirates] on that coast are frightful. I cannot understand how the Indians can endure so much, for they have too much toil—now with the little fleet that defends their coast, now with the ships sent to Ternate, whose boats are laded and provisioned in that port. Two religious live in that convent, which is adorned with considerable silver and many ornaments. The people are intelligent, as they are reared with Castilians. The convent is situated in the Sugbú bishopric.

Religious were established in Potol,[139] the first point on Panay Island coming from Manila. That convent enjoys an exceedingly large stipend, for its jurisdiction extends very far. It has as visitas the five islands mentioned previously, and all those coasts. Thus it had more than two thousand Indians. Later fleeing from their enemies, more came to the island, four leguas up the river of Ibahay. The river is so long that it has an ascent of as many more leguas. This was my first priorate in 1611, when it was yet good. That year came three severe hurricanes—called báguios—which ruined the country, and laid low the church and house, which was very large and fine. I rebuilt it. Afterward our Father Barona[140] exchanged it for that of Tigbauan. The bishop of Sugbú made two benefices of that district, and two beneficiaries reside there at present. But the natives always remember the first religious that they had, for what is known first is liked more—but not because they have ceased to be tended with good devotion.

During this three years, priorates were established in many convents in llocos, as in that of Tagudin. That convent suffers greatly from the Igorrotes, and on that account is almost depopulated.[141] A priorate was established in Candón, an important priorate of that province and the best, although without a vote. It ministers to more than one thousand five hundred Indians.[142] Another was established in Nalbacán, a priorate with a vote, although it has been greatly exhausted by the burning of the church and convent. Batac also is an excellent priorate, and now is one of those that have a vote and are more esteemed. Resident religious were established in Dinglao,[143] which is an excellent vicariate. Religious were placed in Bauang. All these convents belong to the bishopric of Nueva Segovia or Cagayán, as above stated.

In the island of Manila, that is, in the archbishopric of Manila, religious were established, in Caruyan and Quingua. Now these last two are vicariates, and do not have one thousand Indians.

The religious living in them can scarcely support himself.[144]

(To be concluded.)

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[1] Fray Juan de Medina was born at Sevilla, and entered the Augustinian convent of that city. On reaching the Philippines he was assigned to the Bisayan group, and was known to those natives by the name of “the apostle of Panay.” A zealous worker, he was wont on feast days to preach to his flock in three languages—Bisayan, Chinese, and Spanish. He was minister at Laglag in 1613, at Mambúsao in 1615, at Dumangas in 1618, at Panay in 1619, and at Passi in 1623; prior of the convent at Cebú in 1626; and definitor in 1629. After twenty years of missionary labors, being soul-tormented, he asked and secured reluctant permission to return to Spain; but the exigencies of the weather prevented the ship from making its voyage. Three years later he obtained permission to make the same voyage, but died at sea (1635). Diaz, in his Conquistas, says that Medina composed many things in aid of his missionary work; but only the present history and four volumes of manuscript sermons in the Panayana language are known with certainty. See Pérez’s Catálogo, pp. 83–85; and Pardo de Tavera’s Biblioteca Filipina, p. 255.

[2] The island of Panay, in which is a village of the same name. The Augustinian missionaries began their labors in this island in 1572, at Otón (or Ogtóng). Their first establishment in the archipelago was at Cebú (1565). Dumangas mission was begun in 1578; Aclán, in 1581; Passi, in 1593; Ibahay, in 1611. All these are in Panay. See list of convents and villages founded by the Augustinians in the Philippines, from 1565 to 1880, at the end of Medina’s Historia, pp. 481–488.

[3] The monument of Legazpi and Urdaneta presented in this volume was the work of the sculptor, Agustín Querol, and of the architect, Luis María Cabello. On the front and rear of the pedestal are the arms of Manila and Spain. On one side are allegorical representations of the sea and, valor for Legazpi, and on the other the emblems of science for Urdaneta. The pedestal ends above in a border upon which are the names of Magallanes, Elcano, Jofré de Loaisa, and Villalobos. This monument is due to Señor Gutiérrez de la Vega, who initiated a public subscription during the last years of the Spanish regime for a monument to the two discoverers. As it arrived at Manila where Spanish authority in the islands was tottering or ended, it was placed in position by the Americans. See “España y América,” (Augustinian review), for April, 1903, pp. 479–485.

[4] See Vol. XV, p. 102, note 66.

[5] Western group of the Carolinas. They were called Los Reyes, because they were discovered on the sixth of January, when the festival of the holy kings is celebrated.—Miguel Coco, O.S.A.

Fray Miguel Coco—born at Zamora in 1860, and a resident in the Philippines during 1881–95—was editor of Medina’s Historia, on which he made copious annotations. Many of these we reproduce or synopsize, in English translation, all of which are signed by his name.

[6] The Corales (or Coral), San Estéban, or Jardines Islands are now the northern Carolinas.—Coco.

[7] Now the Palaos.—Coco.

[8] For the name of this latter island, see Vol. II, p. 68. The Spanish editor of Medina, in referring to San Agustin’s Conquistas (p. 26), where the name of this island is discussed, says wrongly that the name was given by the Legazpi expedition. It is one of the western Carolinas.

[9] In hydrography the name placeres is given to the layer of sand in stagnant water or alluvion which usually has particles of gold. The Placeres are in die western part of the Carolinas. See San Agustin’s Conquistas, p. 67, and Montero y Vidal’s El archipiélago filipino (Madrid, 1886), pp. 443–499.—Coco.

[10] The largest of the Marianas or Ladrone Islands is Guam, which was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1898. The remaining twelve smaller islands of the group were transferred to Germany by Spain.

[11] Retana (Estadismo, ii, p. 512*) says that the baroto is now a boat dug out of a single log, sometimes of more than eighty feet in length. They are used principally for the lading and discharging of vessels, and are native craft of Cebú and neighboring islands. See U.S. Gazetteer of Philippine Islands (Washington, 1902).

[12] See Vol. I, pp. 105–111, for the English translation of this bull. The translation of the portion quoted occupies parts of pp. 108, 109.

[13] This image is not now carried to the Cathedral on St. Vidal’s day. It is carried in procession, however, on the second Sunday succeeding Epiphany when the Church celebrates the feast of the sweet name of Jesus. Until the end of Spain’s domination of the islands the banner of Castile was also carried in this procession.—Coco.

[14] Literally “barren loves,” the Chrysopopogon acicutatus (Trin.). It is described by Delgado (Historia, p. 744) as a brake that is found quite commonly in the fields, and has small ears that bear a kind of very small millet, like that called vallico in Spain, which grows among the wheat. It has a rough mildew that sticks to the clothes and penetrates them, which the Spaniards call amores secos. It is especially abundant where there are cattle; and when these are grazing, the plants penetrate their eyes, even blinding them because they grow so thickly, and they must be withdrawn with the fingers.

[15] Charts of the villages of Opong and Córdoba in the island of Mactan, made about 1893, showed that the island possessed 15,060 inhabitants.—Coco.

Bulletin No. 1, of Census of the Philippine Islands: 1903, “Population of the Philippines” (issued by the Bureau of the Census, of the Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, 1904), gives the present population of Mactán, which is in the province of Cebú, as 17,540, all civilized.

The Philippine Islands are divided into provinces or comandancias, the latter meaning military district, and in which civil government has not yet been established. The province or comandancia is divided into municipalities and barrios. That barrio or ward in which the municipal government is located is called the población or centro. The census of the various municipalities has been returned for each barrio. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[16] Cebú and San Nicolás are now two independent towns. The census of the latter, about 1893, showed 20,498 inhabitants.—Coco.

The population of the island of Cebú, according to the census of 1903 (see Bulletin No. I, ut supra), was 592,247; of the city of Cebú, 31,079; or, if the closer-built part of this municipality, which may properly be regarded as the city of Cebú, be considered, its population is 18,330.

The steady increase in the total population of the Philippines, as shown by various reports and sources, more or less authoritative and trustworthy, is seen in the following figures. At the time of the discovery by Magallanes in 1521, the total population is supposed to have numbered about 500,000. In 382 years, according to the census report of 1903, the population (now 7,635,426, slightly more than the 1900 census of New York State) has multiplied fifteen times. The increase during the past century was 1.5 per cent. Of the present population, 6,987,686 are civilized or partly so, and 647,740 are wild and uncivilized, although they have some knowledge of domestic arts. Of this latter number about 23,000 are Negritos, who are supposed to be the aborigines of the archipelago. Sources (ecclesiastical and governmental) give the census for various years as follows; they cannot all be taken as definite, although some are approximately so:

1735	837,182
1799	1,522,224
1805	1,741,234
1812	1,933,331
1815	2,502,994
1817	2,062,805
1818	2,026,230
1827	2,593,287
1833	3,153,290
1840	3,096,031
1845	3,434,007
1850	3,800,163
1862	4,734,533
1870	4,698,477
1876	5,567,685
1879	5,817,268
1887	5,984,727
1891	6,101,682
1896	6,261,339

That guesswork has figured to some extent in these figures is evident; but as a whole they represent tolerably well the growth of the islands. The figures for 1903 are to be relied on. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra, and U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands, pp. 25–31.

[17] The episcopal residence is now in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, where it was removed in 1755 from Lal-lo, Cagayán.—Coco.

[18] The island now known as Samar was formerly called Samar in the south, and Ibabao in the north.—Coco.

[19] The island of Panay has at present one hundred villages, scattered through the three provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, and Antique, and the two districts of Concepción and Aclán—with a population in 1893 of about 790,772 people, of whom the Augustinians had in charge 561,158.—Coco.

The “Bulletin” above cited gives Panay (which comprises parts of Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo provinces) 743,646 people, of whom 14,933 are wild.

[20] This is a fact if the figures of the U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands are correct. Those figures show that the mainland of Luzon contains 43,075 square miles and that of Mindanao 45,559. While these numbers may not yet be taken as authoritative they may be regarded as approximate until actual and scientific surveys are made. Algué’s Atlas follows the generally accepted though perhaps erroneous idea that Luzon is the larger of the two, its figures being 47,238 and 36,237 square miles, respectively.

[21] This cross is still preserved. It was enclosed in an octagonal temple by the Augustinians in the time of the Augustinian bishop of Cebú, Fray Santos Marañón, in order to preserve it from the weather, and from the natives, who, regarding it as miraculous, were accustomed to take splinters from it as relics. The foundation of the enclosure is of stone, and it has a grated window which permits passers-by to see the cross. The latter is wooden, not stone, as Montero y Vidal states in his Historia general, i, p. 17. This is the identical cross erected by Magallanes in 1521.—Coco.

[22] This statement is an error. Drake’s first trip to Spain was made to the Biscayan coast in 1564, and was only for the voyage. See Julian Corbett’s Sir Francis Drake. (London, 1890).

[23] Fray Bernabé Villalobos was born in León, and professed in the Augustinian convent of San Felipe el Real. He went to the Philippines in 1590, where he had charge of missions in Halaud (1591), Panay (1593), and Otón (1596). He was twice prior of Manila (1602 and 1613), twice of Cebú (1606 and 1618), and definitor (1616), and later labored in the Tagál missions. His death occurred at Manila in 1646. See Perez’s Catálogo, p. 41.

[24] Compare the materialism of the North American Indians, in Cleveland reissue of Jesuit Relations, viii, p. 119; xx, p. 71; 1, p. 289.

[25] Fray Juan de Alva was born of an illustrious family in Segovia, and professed in the Augustinian convent at Toledo in 1514. In 1535 he went to Mexico, where he labored for thirty-three years. At the age of seventy-two he went to the Philippines, landing at Cebú in 1569. He labored successfully in Panay, and founded the church of Dumangas. In 1572 he was elected first prior of the convent of Manila and definitor, after which (1575) he began the foundation of Pásig. He became rector provincial of the Philippines in 1576, and died at Manila, September 17, 1577. See Perez’s Catálogo, p. 8.

[26] Fray Alonso Jiménez was a native of Málaga, and took his vows in the Augustinian convent at Mexico in 1558. He accompanied Juan de Alva to the Philippines, where he voted in the first provincial chapter. He was the first missionary to the islands of Masbate, Leyte, Samar, and Burias. Thence he went to Ibalon in the province of Camarines, where he resided several years, and made many excursions into Albay and Sorsogón. He was prior of Cebú in 1575. Endowed with great facility in learning languages, he became known as the first linguist of the islands. His death occurred in August, 1577, at the Cebú convent. He composed a catechism in the Bicol language. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 9.

[27] Fray Diego Ordóñez Vivar was a native of Guadalajara in Nueva Galicia, and professed in the convent of Mexico in 1557. Arriving at the Philippines in 1570 he became the first missionary to Bulacán in 1572, provincial secretary in 1580 and 1584, minister at Hagonoy in 1582 and 1587, procurator-general in 1583, and minister at Tendo in 1594 and 1599. He died in Pampanga in 1603. Agustín Maria, O.S.A., in his Osario Venerable (still unpublished) says that Ordónez was in Japan and was an eye-witness of the martyrdom of the Franciscans in 1596. See Perez’s Catálogo, pp. 9, 10.

[28] Fray Diego de Espinar was born in Toledo and entered a convent in Castilla. Almost immediately upon his arrival at Cebú (1570) he was assigned to the region about Laguna de Bay. He was the first missionary at Bonbón (1575), Mindoro (1578), Parañaque (1580), and Candaba (1581). He took part in the first diocesan council celebrated by Bishop Salazar; and in 1587 went to Macao, where he lived until 1596. While returning to Manila in the latter year he was wrecked and drowned between Mindanao and Borneo (1597). He had been definitor in 1581. See Perez’s Catálogo, p. 10.

[29] “For he finds shackles who finds kindnesses.”

[30] St. Gregory, Homil. II in Evangelia.—Coco. Englished, this reads: “Therefore, he desires to plunder him who carries a public treasure along the street.”

[31] This islet is today called Corregidor. The name Mariveles is applied to the mountain ridge in the southern part of Bataan Province, whose brow forms, with Corregidor, one of the entrances to Manila Bay. It is a great pity that Corregidor is not well fortified, in case of war with a foreigner, as it is a very strategic point, and the key to the port and city of Manila.—Coco.

[32] Buzeta and Bravo, Diccionario Geográfico, say that Manila Bay is thirty-three leguas in circumference, and has a maximum depth of thirty-five brazas.

Manila Bay is one of the finest bays in the world and by far the best in the Far East. It will accommodate all the fleets of the world. Its greatest dimensions are from Tubutubu Island in the estuary of Orani, bay of Pampanga, in the northwest angle of the shore of the greater bay, to Las Piñas, thirty-five miles, near the boundary between Cavite and Rizal; and from the delta of the river Grande Pampanga, on the shores of Bulacán in the northeast, to Corregidor Island, southwest, thirty-one miles. It is one hundred and twenty miles in circumference. Five of the important rivers of the archipelago empty into it. See U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands, p. 186.

[33] Tondo now contains 39,043 civilized inhabitants. It is the most northerly and populous district along the bay shore above the Pásig. Its inhabitants are largely engaged in the tobacco and cigar industries, and in fishing, weaving, and gardening for the Manila market. See Bulletin No. 1 of the Census Bureau, and U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands, p. 188.

[34] Psalms cxxi, 7.—Coco.

[35] Matthew xvii, 20.—Coco.

[36] See Vol. VI, p. 115, note 27.

[37] See Vol. VI, p. 88, note 22.

[38] See Vol. IX, p. 95, note 18.

[39] Fray Agustín de Alburquerque was a native of Castilla, and professed at the convent of Salamanca. Batangas became the theater of his missionary labors in the islands. He was definitor in 1572, prior of Tondo in 1575, and prior provincial in 1578, renouncing to the Franciscans during his term the omnimoda ecclesiastical jurisdiction. He tried to sell himself as a slave, in order that he might introduce Christianity into China. He is the author of the first or second Tagál grammar, the Franciscans claiming that the first was written by Fray Juan de Plasencia. He died in 1580. See Pérez’s Catálogo, pp. 13, 14.

[40] Fray Francisco Merino took his vows in the Augustinian province of Castilla. After his arrival in the islands he labored in the province of Iloílo until his death. Although he was proposed as one of the associates of Father Rada on the latter’s memorable journey to China in 1576, Jerónimo Marín went in his stead; while he himself accompanied Juan de Salcedo and Pedro Chaves on the Camarines expedition. He died in 1581. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 14.

[41] Fray Juan de Orta, born in Moguer, in the province of Huelva, professed in the convent of Mexico in 1558. He was a novice under Urdaneta. Shortly after his arrival at the islands, he learned the Bicol language, in which he evangelized with great success. A number of villages founded by him were later handed over to the care of the Franciscans. In 1575 he returned to Manila to help the prior there, where he worked zealously, having in charge also until his death (in Manila on Palm Sunday, 1577) the village of Parañaque. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 12.

[42] Isaiah v, 20.—Coco.

[43] This edifice is still in existence. It is the only one with a stone vault which has been constructed in the archipelago. It resisted with but little damage the series of most severe earthquakes which devastated Manila so frequently. The earthquake of 1880 split one of its towers, which the fathers of the convent afterward ordered to be pulled down. The church is the most capacious and beautiful in Manila, in spite of these circumstances. Its architect was the Augustinian lay-brother Fray Antonio Herrara, nephew or son of the famous architect who built the Escorial.—Coco.

[44] In reg., chapter viii. This is in English: “And therefore, the more fully that you shall watch over a common possession than your own, so much the more fully shall you learn how to progress.”

[45] St. Poss, in his life of St. Augustine [Vita S. Augustini], chapter xxix. Englished the above quotation is, “He made no will, for, as he was a pauper in Christ, he had nothing.”

[46] The U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands (p. 374) says that the lake of Bonbón or Taal is second in importance among the lakes of Luzón. Its circumference is seventy-five miles, being seventeen miles from north to south and twelve and one-half miles from east to west: It reaches a depth of one hundred and six fathoms very near shore. The crater of the volcano of Taal in its center supplies quantities of sulphur.

[47] The last parochial census (before 1893) gave Taal 32,908 inhabitants, and says that from it was formed the village of Lemery, which has 16,738 inhabitants.—Coco.

Bulletin No. 1 (ut supra) gives the present civilized population of Taal as 17,525. The chief industries of the people are agriculture, herding, fishing, and the coast trade. Lemery has 11,150 civilized inhabitants.

[48] For a late discussion of the volcanoes of the Philippines, see Bulletin No. 3 of The Census of the Philippine Islands, “Volcanoes and Seismic Centers,” published by the Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census (Washington, 1904).

[49] Today (1893) Tanauan has 21,363 inhabitants; Lipa, 40,031; Bauang, 39,275; and Batangas, 35,156.—Coco.

The Bulletin’s figures give Tanauan 18,263 civilized inhabitants; Lipa, 37,934; Bauang, 39,094; and Batangas, 33,131.

[50] This lake has a coast-line of 108 miles, and its two greatest diameters are respectively 32 and 28 miles. Fifteen rivers empty into it. See U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands.

[51] The original reads: “porque dos Iglesias,” which we have regarded as a misprint for “porque dos leguas.”

[52] The original is “de voto.” Perhaps Medina means that the religious at this visita had the right of voting at the election of the provincial.—Coco.

[53] Calumpit has now (1893) 15,024 inhabitants.—Coco.

Bulletin No. 1 (ut supra) gives the present civilized population of Calumpit as 13,897.

[54] A small bird, native to the island of Cerdeña, whose nest is utilized by the cuckoo. The context, however, suggests that the word may be a misprint for mezquitas, referring to the mezquit (Algarobia) of Nueva España—the writer meaning that along the Quiñgua valley were numerous thickets of some shrub resembling the mezquit. The river is now fringed with clumps of prickly bamboo. It is also possible that mosquitas is simply a misprint for mosquitos (“mosquitoes”).

[55] Fray Pedro Mejia was born in La Mancha, and professed in the Augustinian convent at Valladolid. He became prior of Guadalupe in 1621, and later definitor and visitor. He was minister at Narvacan in 1611 and of the Tagál villages of Calumpit, Bauan, and Guiguinto until his death in 1659. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 94.

[56] Fray Luis Ronquillo, nephew of Governor Gonzalo Ronquillo, was born in the city of Arevalo (Spain), in the province of Avila. He was lecturer in theology, master, and prior of the convent of Arenas. He went to the Philippines in 1624, where he became preacher in 1626, definitor-general in 1628, prior of Manila and master of novitiates in 1638, prior of Tondo and Malate, and definitor of the province in 1632; and was at the missions of Calumpit (1629), Bay (1635), Bulacán (1641), and Pásig (1642). He died at Manila in 1644. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 102.

[57] The census prior to 1893 gave Lubao 20,568 inhabitants.—Coco.

Its present civilized population according to Bulletin No. 1 (ut supra) is 19,063.

[58] Doubtless a mistake of the author, for Manila is about three hundred and twenty miles from Iloílo.—Coco.

[59] Today (1893) administered by seculars, to whom the Augustinians ceded it.—Coco.

[60] Today Halaud.—Coco.

[61] Dueñas.—Coco.

[62] Dingle.—Coco.

[63] The island of Guimarás, today (1893) in charge of seculars.—Coco.

[64] The present province of Antique.—Coco.

[65] The Chinese call their country Song-Song.—Coco.

[66] ”Manguianes.—The heathen, unaffiliated natives inhabiting the interior of Mindoro, Romblon, and Tablas. Manguian (forest people) is a collective, name of different languages and races. According to R. Jordana, the Manguianes of Mindoro are divided into four branches, one of which, Bukil or Buquel, is a bastard race of Negritos, while a second in external appearance reminds one of Chinese Mestizos, and on that account it is to be regarded as a Mongoloid type. The other two are pure Malay.” (Blumentritt’s “Native Tribes of the Philippines,” in Smithsonian Report, 1899, p. 541.)

Colin says (Labor evangélica, lib. i, cap. iv, sec. 30) that the tribes dwelling at the headwaters of the rivers in the various islands are known by almost as many different names—among these, as Zambales, Manguianes, etc. “It is understood that they are mestizos of the other tribes, the savage and the civilized; and that for this reason they rank between those two classes of peoples in color, dress, and customs.” He also describes their habits and mode of life (cap. vi, sec. 52), and says of them: “They are a simple, honest, temperate people,” and adds that, up to the time of writing his book, they had not been christianized, “save some six hundred in the district and visitas of Nauhan, who received baptism during the few years in which the Society of Jesus had charge of them.”

Murillo Velarde, S.J., states in his Historia de Philipinas (Manila, 1749), fol. 52, that “in 1631 the cura of Mindoro, who was a secular priest, ceded that ministry to the Society;... the superior lived at Nauhan in Mindoro, and Ours undertook to preach to and convert the Manguianes, heathen Indians of that island.” On fol. 63, verso, and folio 64 he gives some account of these labors, and of the customs of these people, under the date 1633.

Sawyer (Inhabitants of the Philippines, p. 206) describes the Manguianes as “probably a hybrid Negrito-Visaya race.” He mentions three varieties of these people, of whom “those residing near the western coast are much whiter, with lighter hair and full beards;” those of the southern part show evident signs of Chinese blood; and those in the center are darker and less intelligent. He praises the morality and honesty of the Manguianes, as also does Worcester (Philippine Islands, p. 413).

[67] Fray Diego Mójica was born of noble parents in a Castilian town, and took the Augustinian habit in Salamanca. After living for some years in Mexico, he went (1573) to the Philippines, where he was sent to Mindoro. He was the first prior of the Convent of Santa Maria de Gracia in 1575; twice definitor; minister of Tondo and Batangas; prior of Pásig in 1578; preacher and confessor to the Spaniards in 1580; president of the provincial chapter in 1581. He died in 1584. Extremely modest by nature, he never sought or wished preferment.

[68] Fray Alonso Gutiérrez professed in the province of Castilla, and was a conventual in Cebú in 1573. He ministered to Halaud and Otón successively in 1576 and 1577; was preacher and confessor in 1581; minister at Parañaque in 1584, at Tabucao in 1584, at Pásig in 1586, and at Tondo in 1587. In the last-named year he was definitor and lecturer, and in 1590 president of the chapter, dying at Manila in 1605. See Perez’s Catálogo, p. 15.

[69] Fray Juan Gallegos took his vows at the convent at Mexico about 1566. Upon his arrival at the islands, he became a conventual at Lubao. He was first minister to Bay in 1578, and to Tabucao in 1581. He died while definitor, at the end of 1581. Ibid., p. 15.

[70] Fray Francisco Manrique professed at Valladolid, and on his arrival at the islands relieved Father Rada (September 11, 1575) of the ministry at Otón. He was afterward definitor and missionary at Lubao (1576); rector provincial in 1577; first minister to Candaba in 1579; prior of Manila, 1575, 1578, 1581, and 1584; definitor, 1581; vicar-provincial, 1582; and first prior of Macao, 1587. His death must have occurred in 1588, as his name does not appear after that in the provincial records. Ibid. p. 16.

[71] Fray Sebastián Molina, after his arrival at the islands, became first minister to Macabebe in 1575. He died in September of the following year. Ibid., p. 16.

[72] Fray Alonso Heredero was an austere religious, and was three times minister at Macabebe (1576, 1578, and 1581). He was definitor and minister at Calumpit in 1584, and again definitor and minister at Méjico in 1590. He died in the latter town in 1591. Ibid., p. 16.

[73] The viceroy of Nueva España at this time was Martin Enriquez de Almansa; he arrived in the City of Mexico November 5, 1568, and held his office until October, 1580, when he was succeeded by the Condé de la Coruña.

[74] The Franciscans were in charge of these islands in 1893.—Coco.

[75] The “Christian Doctrine” of Cardinal Bellarmino; see Vol. XVII, p. 70, and note.

[76] Only the name of Parián remains today; and of the church not even the ruins.—Coco.

[77] San Agustín (Conquistas p. 381) says that the Augustinian mission to the Chinese was established in the Tondo convent in 1581, and placed under the special charge of Fray Diego Muñoz. Later a suit arose between the Augustinians and Dominicans (Conquistas, p. 533) as to the administration of the Chinese at Baybay. It was settled in 1612, on condition of the two orders celebrating alternately Corpus Christi day.

[78] Ecclesiastes xi, 30.—Coco.

[79] See Gonzalez de Mendoza’s Historia de la gran China (1586), for a relation of this journey. Part of it may be found in Vol. VI of this series, pp. 114–125.

[80] This is evidently the Historia de la gran China by Gonzalez de Mendoza.

[81] In Tagál, molave.—Coco.

[82] Bulacán in the census preceding 1893 had a population of 13,659.—Coco.

Bulletin No. 1 gives Bulacán 11,589 civilized inhabitants.

[83] The Rio Grande of Pampanga.

[84] In 1893, the inhabitants numbered 15,156, with a convent and church of solid masonry.—Coco.

Bulletin No. 1 makes the present civilized population 11,783.

[85] In 1893 Macabebe had 19,801 inhabitants, and a stone church and convent.—Coco.

The civilized population now (see Bulletin No. 1, ut supra) is 14,405.

[86] The population of the province of Pampanga is reported for five different years as follows: 1818, 106,381; 1840, 152,232; 1850, 156,272; 1870, 203,137 (these four including Tárlac); 1887, 223,902. The estimate of the U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands, from which these numbers are taken, figures a population of 223,922 for 1901. Bulletin No. 1 (ut supra) reports 223,754 for 1903, of whom 222,656 are civilized, and 1,098 wild.

[87] The attitude of the great Augustinian Philippine writer, San Agustín, and in general the friars of the last century of the Spanish regime, toward the native is well shown in the following note by the Spanish editor, Father Coco: “The Indians have not changed in this regard. Since they have not lost their disposition they preserve with it their vices. If the father does not interest himself in the regulation of bridges, roads, the maintenance of the children at school, etc., nothing useful is done. In this interest and zeal, the father must not relax one instant, for the very moment in which the vigilance of the father rests, little by little all the good that he has done in the village disappears. The greater number of the Ilocan plains are crossed by irrigation canals, brought to completion by the initiative of the fathers, and preserved until now by the watchfulness of the same persons. All this, as is natural, brings endless troubles and not small sorrow to the parish priest.”

[88] Psalms xxxv, 7.—Coco.

[89] The author might have added something more, namely, that from the little that is enjoyed from the Spanish race, it is becoming so degenerate in the course of time that it is losing completely even the characteristic traces of its origin. It is giving the “leap backward,” as we say here in common parlance.—Coco.

[90] The original is bozales, which is a term applied to negroes lately imported, or to inhabitants of the less polished provinces of Spain, newly arrived in Madrid.

[91] Dative of agibilis, a late Latin word coined from agere; meaning “what can be done or accomplished.”

[92] Visitas in the Philippines are the distant suburbs of a village. They generally have their chapel and patron saint, and the chapel is called visita. The term has been extended to the suburbs. Many of the visitas are distant from the mother village four or six hours by horse, along impassable roads which cause great annoyances to the parish priests.—Coco.

[93] Odes, book iv, 24, 11. 30, 31. William Coutts in his translation of Horace (New York and Bombay, 1898) renders this passage as follows: “We hate virtue when safe amongst us, but seek for it when removed from our eyes, envious alike.”

[94] Still today [1893], thanks to God, one may sleep in the convents with doors unlocked, without the slightest fear. However, now they are generally locked in the province of Manila.—Coco.

[95] Paul’s first Epistle to the Corinthians iv, 9.—Coco.

[96] Job iii, 3.

[97] Much more might be said about these points, which Father Medina treats with as much skill as delicacy.... Not to go into certain details, wearisome beyond measure, I shall only say, that even now were it not for the direct intervention of the Spanish priest in the collection of the cedula or tribute, the treasury would lose some hundreds of thousands of pesos. Many are the parish priests, especially in the Bisayas, who oblige the heads of barangay to deliver at the convent the result of the collection; for if they did not do so, not one-half of what the town should furnish would be deposited in the royal treasury. While the writer of these lines was in a certain town of Iloílo a few years ago, the parish priest had in his convent the sum of 15,000 pesos, belonging to the collection of the tribute. He petitioned the corresponding authority for an armed force to conduct the revenues of the state safely to the royal treasury. That authority considered it suitable to answer him that it was not part of the duty of the military force to act as a custodian for the conveyance of the state revenue....—Coco.

[98] Fray Juan de Villamayor took his vows in the Augustinian convent of Toledo, and was conventual and prior of Halaud in 1590 and 1593 respectively. He ministered at Aclán in 1596, at Jaro in 1598, at Sibucao in 1599, at Potól in 1603, and finally at Aclán, 1605–1608, where he died the latter year. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 38.

[99] The lay brother Fray Andrés Garcia was assistant for some years at the mission at Aclán. He died in 1623. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 75.

[100] The island of Bantayan (province of Cebú) has now a population of 18,325, all civilized. See Bulletin No. I, ut supra.

[101] And of pearls.—Coco.

[102] Antique; in 1893 it was a province with twenty-one villages and a population of 119,322, under the charge of sixteen Augustinians.—Coco.

Its present population is 134,166, of whom 131,245 are civilized and 2,921 wild. The reports of population for several other years are as follows: 1818, 50,597; 1840, 48,333; 1850, 84,570; 1870, 108,855; 1887, 115,434. See Bulletin No. 1 (ut supra) and U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands.

[103] Father Fray Nicolás Melo, or Moran, Portuguese by birth, and the lay-brother Fray Nicolás de San Agustín, a Japanese, were sent on an important commission to Europe in 1597. They went to Malacca, and thence to Goa—where, not finding facilities to embark, they determined to make the journey by land. They journeyed toward Persia, in company with other Augustinian religious, who were going to our missions in that empire. Thence they went to Moscow, where Father Melo comforted the persecuted Catholics (to whom he administered the holy sacraments), and tried to convert the Calvinist heretics, for which reason they were imprisoned and suffered penalties without number. When they reached Nisna, near the Caspian Sea, brother Fray Nicolás de San Agustín was beheaded on the thirtieth of November, 1611, for refusing to apostatize from the holy Catholic faith. Father Nicolás Melo was burned alive in Astrakán, together with Princess Bárbara Noski, a tertiary of our order, on the first of November, 1616.—Coco.

Father Melo was born of a noble family in Corinchán, Portugal. Going to Mexico at an early age, he took the Augustinian habit in the convent of Puebla de los Angeles, June 28, 1578. After becoming a priest he went to the Philippines, where he learned the Tagál and Bisayan tongues, and ministered at Aclán, Cagayancilo, Batangas, and Tanauan. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 27.

The lay-brother, Fray Nicolás de San Agustín, a Japanese, converted by the above, professed in the Manila convent in 1594. Ibid., p. 69.

[104] In 1893 Malolos had 14,635 inhabitants, without reckoning the villages of Barasoaín and Santa Isabel, with 9,442 and 7,174 inhabitants respectively. The three villages, especially Malolos, had at the above date beautiful churches and convents of solid masonry.—Coco.

The present civilized population of Malolos (see Bulletin No. 1, ut supra) is 12,575; Barasoaín, 8,047; and of Santa Isabel, 6,403. The first named is the capital of Bulacán province.

[105] Now (1893) the parish of Hagonoy has in charge 19,755 people, and has a very large stone church and convent.—Coco.

Its present civilized population (see Bulletin No. 1, ut supra) is 21,304.

[106] This town had 16,867 inhabitants in 1893.—Coco. It now has 13,469 civilized inhabitants according to the latest census. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[107] Pedáneo or gobernadorcilio, as he is called in the country.—Coco.

[108] Matthew x, 22.—Coco.

[109] “The iniquity of thy sister was pride, abundance, and sloth.”

[110] In regard to what is mentioned of the character and nature of the Indian, all the authors, native and foreign, whom I have read are unanimous in this, with the exception of Father Delgado, S.J., who for reasons unknown to me, although not difficult to infer, dissents from the others. See the attempt at refutation (!) which the above father, with more good will than success, has tried to make of the so well known letter of Father Gaspar de San Agustín—a letter which in my opinion should never have been published (as in fact it was published in the first volume of this “Biblioteca,” p. 273, et seq.). No Spaniard or foreigner who has lived for some time in the islands and has had intercourse with the natives will agree with what Father Delgado asserts, but which is so opposed to the facts. To speak truly is not to offend, but to depart from the truth is injustice; and in the present case, he who writes thus would merit another epithet.—Coco.

The letter mentioned in the preceding paragraph will be published later in this series.

[111] That is, the vicar-provincial and definitors, who governed the province.—Coco.

[112] This letter is given in full by Gaspar de San Agustín in his Conquistas, pp. 395–409.—Coco.

This was the father master, Fray Alonso de la Vera-Cruz, one of those in Mexico to whom the bishop wrote. See San Agustín, ut supra, p. 395.

[113] Fray Diego Alvarez was master of novices in the Manila convent in 1580, and minister at Taal in 1581, and at Bulacán in 1582. He was elected prior provincial in 1584, and definitor and minister at Taguig in the provincial chapter of 1587. In 1590 he took charge of the Manila priorate and was elected provincial for the second time in 1593. He died in the convent of San Pablo in Manila, in 1601. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 20.

[114] Ecclesiasticus xix, 1.

[115] The city of Vigan is not now [1893] in so poor a state as Father Medina says. It is well inhabited, and presents a good appearance, having many stone edifices.—Coco.

It is the capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, and has a civilized population of 14,945 (See U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands and Bulletin No. 1, ut supra); and from its position on the railroad from Manila it is a town of importance.

[116] Now [1893] called Balaoang, and with 8,260 inhabitants.—Coco.

Balaoang is now in the province of La Unión, and has a civilized population of 10,008. See ut supra.

[117] In 1893 the three provinces of La Unión and South and North Ilocos had, in the lowlands, forty-two villages with a total population of 349,205; and in the mountains fifteen missions in Abra, Lepanto, and Benguet, with a population of 43,044, or a total of 392,249. All were under charge of the Augustinians.—Coco.

Ilocos Norte now contains 178,995 (2,210 wild) inhabitants, Ilocos Sur, 187,411 (13,611 wild); and La Unión, 137,839 (10,050 wild). The province of Abra contains 51,860 (14,037 wild) inhabitants; Benguet, 22,745 (21,828 wild); and Lepanto-Bontoc, 72,750 (70,283 wild). See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[118] Fray Francisco Mercado took his vows in the Manila convent in 1611. He was a missionary at Laoag (1614, 1626, 1635) and Batác (1620, 1641), provisor of the bishop of Nueva Segovia (1623), and definitor (1632). He gave generous alms to the province from his own funds, showing special favor to the convents of Guadalupe and Bantay. In the latter he acquired a fine estate, with the intention of building a hospital for the Ilocan friars; and at that convent he collected a good library, which was later removed to Manila. He died at Batác in 1642. See Perez’s Catálogo, p. 194.

[119] “Ilaoag” is the capital of the province of Ilocos Norte and is today called Laoag. It has a civilised population of 34,454. See U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands, and Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[120] It does not exist now. Its demolition was ordered by the general government, after Manila was evacuated by the English, who used it as a fort, as they likewise did the convent of the Recollects, in the siege of Manila in 1763.—Coco.

[121] Ermita has a present population of 12,246. It is the seat of the observatory of Manila, and of the normal school. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra; and U.S. Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands, p. 189.

[122] Now [1893] this is in charge of the Recollects.—Coco.

[123] Spanish, ni hay padre para hijo, ni hijo para padre—“there is neither father for child, nor child for father.”

[124] Now [1893] there are 1,805 inhabitants; and the village of Pineda, with 8,196 inhabitants, was separated from it. The Virgin de los Remedios [i.e., “of the remedies”] is still highly reverenced.—Coco.

Malate has now (see Bulletin No. 1, ut supra) a population of 8,855.

[125] In 1893 Tanauan had a fine stone church with three naves and a convent.—Coco.

See ante, note 58.

[126] The Order ceded it to the Franciscans.—Coco.

[127] Fray Hernando Cabrera took his vows at Cordova in 1601. Upon going to the Philippines he filled the following positions: sub-prior at Manila, 1609; missionary at Batangas, 1611; at Taal, 1613; at Parañaque, 1614; at San Pablo de los Montes, 1618, 1626, and 1629, where his efforts resulted in an excellent and well equipped church and convent; definitor, examiner, and definitor-general. He died at sea in 1630, while on his way to Nueva España. See Perez’s Catálogo, pp. 78, 79.

[128] Fray Diego Muñóz was born in the town of Zafra, of the province of Badajoz, and took his vows in the Augustinian convent of Mexico in 1571. He was renowned for both his learning and his virtues, and on his arrival at the Philippines in 1578 was given the chair of sacred theology in the convent of San Pablo at Manila. He was the first commissary of the Holy Inquisition in the islands; missionary at Pásig and Malolos in 1580 and 1584 respectively, and of the Tondo Sangleys in 1581; definitor in 1584; provincial in 1587, when it was necessary to obtain dispensation from Rome, as he had not reached the required age. During his term as provincial the regulations of the order were received, and the present Manila convent begun. He died in 1594, leaving sermons in Castilian and Tagál, one volume each. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 22.

[129] The last census before 1893 gave Apalit 11,563 inhabitants.—Coco.

Bulletin No. 1 (ut supra) shows the present civilized population to be 12,206.

[130] Fray Juan Quiñones was born at Sevilla about 1551 of a noble family. He studied in the university of Mexico, and took the habit in that city in 1575. He went to the Philippines in 1577, where he threw himself fervently into the missionary work. In 1578 he was named minister to Bay and extended his efforts to Taal and Pásig. He was definitor in 1581 and 1587; prior of Manila in 1586, and vicar-provincial in 1587, dying that same year at the convent of San Pablo in Manila. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 19.

[131] This is the date of the text, and if true, the date of the title-page (1630) must be either a misprint or an equivocation on the part of the author. Or this instance and the several others similar to it may have been added by Medina to his manuscript after he had completed it to the date of the title-page; or they may be due to a later hand.

[132] In 1893 there were 12,858 inhabitants.—Coco. The present civilized population of Aráyat is 12,904. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[133] Information regarding this father is very slight. He was admitted as confessor to the Spaniards, as appears by an Augustinian record of November 12, 1602 after having been examined, and having presented his licenses to confess, which had been given him in Goa. In 1604, he returned to be approved. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 185.

[134] In 1893, one of the best towns in Iloílo, with a population of 15,842.—Coco.

Bulletin No. 1 (ut supra) gives the civilized population for 1903 as 20,964.

[135] Now Dingle, and not connected with Pototan. It has a population of 9,769.—Coco.

Also in Iloílo province and with a present civilized population of 12,129. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[136] Spanish, lamentado; thus in printed text, but this word seems of dubious accuracy.

[137] It now has [1893] a beautiful stone church, and a population of 5,281. Its modern name is Dueñas.—Coco.

Also situated in the province of Iloílo, with a present civilized population of 6,700. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[138] This is a very important town in Iloílo. In 1893 it had 15,151 inhabitants. It had a beautiful stone church, built very high, and in the form of a Greek cross, crowned with a fine cupola.—Coco.

Its present civilized population is 14,464. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[139] Ibahay in the district of Aclán, of Cápiz Province—Coco.

[140] This is Fray Alonso Baraona, a native of Quintanario, in the province of Burgos. He took his vows in the convent of that city in 1596. He became prior of Santo Niño in 1607, and was missionary at Dumangás in 1608, Batan in 1609, Jaro in 1610, Aclán in 1613, and Passi in 1614. He was definitor and prior provincial in 1617, and missionary at Bay in 1633. His death occurred in 1626. See Pérez’s Catálogo, p. 77.

[141] In 1893 it had 7,623 inhabitants.—Coco.

The civilized population in 1903 was 8,503. It is in the province of llocos Sur. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[142] In 1893, a parish chart showed 12,180 inhabitants.—Coco.

Also in llocos Sur, and with a civilized population of 18,828. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[143] Dingras with 11,113 inhabitants in 1893.—Coco.

The present civilized population is 15,792. This village is situated in the province of Ilocos Norte. Narvacán (the Nalbacán of the text), in Ilocos Sur, has a present civilized population of 19,575. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.

[144] Caruya or Caruyan, now Bigaa was in 1893 a parish, as was also Quingua, in the province of Bulacán. They had populations in 1893 of 7,108 and 7,787 respectively, and good stone churches and convents.—Coco.

These two villages have present civilized populations of 8,000 and 7,229, respectively. See Bulletin No. 1, ut supra.