The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 36, 1649-1666 / 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

Jesuit Protest against the Dominican University

Memorial of Miguel Solana, Jesuit, petitioning the king not to allow the Dominican friars to carry out their purpose of founding a university in Manila.

Sire:

Miguel Solana of the Society of Jesus, and procurator-general of the province of the Philippine Islands, makes the following declaration, namely: That he has been shown a memorial presented by the father master Fray Mateo Vermudez,[1] procurator-general of the college of Santo Tomas in the city of Manila, wherein for reasons therein set forth he asks that the ambassador at Rome be authorized in writing to petition his Holiness to erect a university of general studies, and to incorporate and establish it in his college as above—so that, should there hereafter be founded separate schools and general [studies], the said university is to be transferred to them, in which may be taught three other branches of learning—namely, canon law, civil law, and medicine, as more fully set forth in the said memorial, the meaning whereof to be taken for granted. Your Majesty will be pleased to order that the same be stricken from the judicial acts, and furthermore, that no other petition of similar import be admitted, with the declaration to the opposing party that, inasmuch as the matter has already been decided [cosa juzgada] in favor of the college of San Ignacio, which the Society conducts in the said city, they are barred from further relief. All which I petition for, for reasons to be more fully described hereafter, whereon I found the necessary petitions and prayers, which, as is evident and appears, will be acknowledged throughout the whole line of reasoning and the acts of the suit that has been entered by the said college, as well as from the allegations and claims deduced therein. The claim of the college of Santo Tomas, in brief, is the establishment of a university in order to nullify the right and privileges of the Society and of the said college of San Ignacio, whereon the Audiencia of Manila has acted and delivered judgment—which acts, on being brought before the Council on appeal, were ended definitively in the trial and review of the said suit. The case, therefore, is finished and closed, and for no reason can or should it be reopened, either in whole or part. Wherefore it results that the claim now introduced is faulty with no other purpose than to burden the said Society with new suits and expenses; as the case, as stated, has been decided and closed, and the reopening of it barred, as being a matter already determined. The said memorial therefore should not be admitted, nor a hearing granted to the claim advanced therein, which should be refused further consideration. And to the end that his plea be drawn up according to the requirements of law, and for the better confutation of the reasons advanced in the said memorial, he [i.e., Solana] maintains that what was petitioned for and obtained by the opponents in the warrant (which was secured through the aid of money) was the establishment of a university like those at Avila and Pamplona. But in order to avoid raising the question of temporal privileges with the necessary expenses therefor, as well as because the paper to be sent to Rome had to be of similar tenor, it was trickily drawn up, and the petition for a university made to read as for one like Lima and Mexico, whereof the reasons advanced in the said suit were set forth in full form, whence it follows that it is not entitled to any further consideration; especially so, since the concession made by his Holiness was according to the tenor of the clear and truthful petition that had been presented to him, without taking into consideration the ulterior meaning that through deceit and malice had been introduced into the report and the subsequent decree thereon. Nor should so important a defect be glozed over with the assertion that the said paper bore the signatures of the president and the members of your Council (whereof there is no evidence) while the very contrary is evident in the acts. [Let it be noted] that considerable time has passed, while, moreover, the proceedings have taken for granted the certainty that those acts should have in similar matters—besides the facts that, in the endeavor to secure a bull, the accompanying statement was vague in that no mention was made therein of the authority possessed by the Society of conferring degrees by perpetual and lawful right; and that in the Council acknowledgment was made (with full cognizance of the case and of whatever was proposed in the said memorial and papers), that they were in favor of the college of San Ignacio and its degrees and students, and not of those of Santo Tomas. Moreover, the bulls and apostolic privileges that have been enjoyed by the Society are in legal and recognized form, and have been admitted and certified to in all the audiencias and tribunals of the Indias, as is notorious; they were passed by the Council, and were presented in the suit, and acknowledged as being of value; while what was advanced by the said father procurator whereon were issued the decisions and writs of the Audiencia of Manila and the Council, was held as gratuitously asserted and without foundation. As early as the year 26, the said bulls were presented to the president, governor, and captain-general, at that time Don Juan Niño de Tabora—from which the subreption latent in the bull which they obtained is inferrible, for in the form wherein it was granted, they would not have secured it if his Holiness had had the evidence of the right and [fact of] possession on the part of the said Society. Nevertheless, the said father procurator-general seeks and claims to have all the defects therein corrected through the issuance of new letters and bulls, in order that the said Society may thereby be deprived and despoiled of its said just privileges and legal titles. In virtue of these it is toiling to the great benefit and advantage, both spiritual and temporal, of the vassals of your Majesty who are resident in those regions and provinces, and who again and again have sought to have the Society upheld in its said right, the same having been duly acknowledged and certified, of which there cannot be the slightest doubt. In order to make plain the baselessness of the arguments that are raised against the said bulls, it suffices to say that they have been presented in legal, authentic, and unchallengeable shape, whereof the evidence is wholly undeniable; and have been recognized as such by the Council, by which they have been accepted with all needed circumstances and requirements—so that, had any further scrutiny been needed therein, the same would not have been neglected, nor, [in such case], would the audiencias of the Indias have allowed them to be cited. Moreover in the suit now pending in the Council, between the college of the Society and that of Santo Tomas in sequence of the one conducted before the royal Audiencia resident in that city [of Manila], the fiscal of Santa Fé [in Mexico?] required that those bulls should be recognized and fulfilled; and although opposition thereto was offered on the part of the college of Sante Tomas, the acts of the trial and the review show that a writ of execution was issued empowering the Society to make full and complete use of the same by conferring degrees, as it had been doing, the college of Santo Tomas being enjoined therefrom. In consideration of this it is not right to grant the father procurator a hearing. Besides, in that suit many other arguments and reasons were brought forward in favor of the Society. Wherefore, if this had not already been decided, finished, and closed, as is the case, a petition would be presented to have all the acts relative to the same brought together, or that a report should be drawn up of the proceedings in the trial. With this concurs the fact, as said, that they were passed by the Council, of which a cedula to that effect has been presented. Moreover in the said suit before the Audiencia of Manila, the cedula of November 25 of [the year 16] 45 having been offered in opposition thereto, full recognition was had of this article; and in the trial and review of the case the claim was refused consideration, since the truthfulness and promptness wherewith the Society was and is proceeding was in evidence—as also was its right use of the said bulls and its conferral of degrees, of which recognition and discussion was made before all parties in this said suit. Besides, to assert that the powers to confer degrees were revoked by Pius V and Sixtus V is contrary to established fact, inasmuch as, so far as relates, appertains, and belongs to its privileges and bulls, these not only were not withdrawn from the Society, but rather were confirmed most amply, with the grant besides of new favors and graces. Wherefore, as regards this plea all question is ended, while the revocation to which he refers concerns other parties, and other intents and purposes, which do not belong to or affect this suit relative to the firm and unalterable right of the Society of Jesus. The said father procurator-general, then, should know what is so notorious that even in Rome, where the Society has its principal university, it has been conferring degrees on its students without any opposition whatever, which would not be the case were the bulls in any way detective. But this [claim] is wholly gratuitous and censurable, as the said decrees of execution were issued by the audiencias and councils; nor should it be offered in opposition on the part of the college of Santo Tomas; nor should an attempt be made to reopen what has been resolved and decided legally with such full knowledge of the case. And the report which he files is also opposed to established fact, in his statement that the city [of Manila] petitioned for the foundation of a university in the said college; for no such paper was written, nor has one been discovered, to the best of our knowledge. Nay, the evidence on the contrary goes to show that a special petition was drawn up in both the general and the particular interest of that community wherein the said Society is established and the use and exercise of its said bulls maintained. For this reason, when the Audiencia ordered the trial to be held, the citizens displayed so much regret for this disturbance of the Society, that the cabildo and magistracy felt obliged to repair to the governor and most urgently petition him to interpose his authority to have the suit remanded to the Council. They asked that no change [in regard to the college] be made, and that he would petition your Majesty on their behalf not to sanction the finding of the said act; or, in event of this being done, to extend the same grace also to the Society of Jesus, in opposition to whose growth it was not right or within reason (with due respect) to have the question decided through the expenditure of money, and that the petty amount of two thousand pesos. Because of the harm to the public welfare and the service of your Majesty, besides other cogent reasons, any similar proposal should be regarded with disfavor and refused a hearing. Moreover, it [i.e., the Jesuit college] was sought for and granted on the fiat of the Conde de Castrillo, through whose agency this grant was secured, and confirmed by the Council. This they secured and obtained fully and sufficiently, and their warrants have been put into effect; whence it results that (even though the intent [of these] had not prevailed and been put into execution, as it has been; even though the res judicata bars further action, as it does) no recourse is open to them [i.e., the Dominicans], nor means that can be of use for introducing the said claim, nor ground for complaint—especially since in virtue of the bull they enjoy many and valuable prerogatives which were not contained in the temporal privileges which they exercised in former times. Then the archbishop gave them their degrees, which were recognized only in the Indias, while now these are recognized everywhere, being conferred by the rector of the college, which has other officials, insignia, and preëminences of special import. Nor do they [i.e., the Dominicans] refrain from nor content themselves with disparaging in every way the degrees and students of the Society of Jesus, whom they deprive and despoil of their just titles and rights. Such is the reason wherefore your Majesty should not give them a hearing were the subject one entitled to a hearing; such the reason wherefore the Council, although wrongly the contrary is maintained, has not declared the college of Santo Tomas to be a university—since what it did do, as is evident in the acts, was to order and declare that both colleges use their bulls. Thus the opposing party is deprived of nothing; nay, especially since, as is stated in the petition and prayer drawn up for that purpose, it was in order to obtain such powers as are held by the universities of Avila and Pamplona. They should not now seek, because of the illegal act of the secretary, to have those powers extended and enlarged to those [possessed by the colleges] of Lima and Mexico, even though his Holiness had not reduced them to the form, limits, and branches of knowledge, referred to in the said bull—to whose tenor and decision one must submit without therefore giving undue significance to the word academia used therein. For, without now raising any question as to the effects thereof, the burden of this treatise simply states that whether a college be a university or not depends on the will of him who is empowered to grant it after inquiry into the fundamental grounds of the matter. In the said lawsuit, the truth was established; accordingly it is neither expedient nor fitting to discuss new points, as whether the term academia, or that of university, or something else be used. Besides, as already stated, the city of Manila did not petition for a university as alleged by the opposite party. The petitioner to that effect in the paper referred to was the said college itself, which secured the grant with limitations as in the decree. Wherefore, even if the said bull had not been secured, there would have been no cause for complaint, inasmuch as they paid the said two thousand pesos with your Majesty’s consent; nor could a new petition at any time be presented, one already having been granted, even though they had not obtained the bull.

But without calling in question the matter which is already settled, or his other representations which he insists on and firmly maintains—without appearance, however, of abandoning his claim in case of its rejection—the point that now may be discussed relative to a regular university and general studies is as follows: Has the college of Santo Tomas the needed requisites therefor? or are there new conditions by which their claim can be supported, and which would deprive your Majesty of all ground [for refusing it], although you do not support it? In case a new foundation should be deemed advisable, this more suitably should be established in the said college of San Ignacio, for the reasons to be gathered from the acts of the said trial, from the reports that have been made in favor of the Society, and from the excellent progress which, as is proved by experience, has resulted from their learning and teaching in those islands, with the general applause and approval of their inhabitants and citizens. All this [the writer] again brings forward in the interest of this plea; and he represents that the college of San Ignacio is one founded by your Majesty, and the earliest, and is older than that of Santo Tomas; he also asserts its precedence and other prerogatives adjudged to it in the said trial. Its teaching staff has been, as it will continue to be, adorned with the needed endowments and learning; and that the Society will, as is usual in such cases, carefully teach and train youth follows from its statutes; and the results of its labors in this direction are well known. For its teachers it has never demanded any fees, nor have they any other reward than the luster which is derived from the learning and uprightness of the scholars. They need no royal endowment for their support and maintenance, nor will they ever apply for one. From the revenues enjoyed by the college and the favor shown by your Majesty from the beginning of their earliest establishments they will maintain themselves and be gladly occupied in the fulfilment of this duty. Your Majesty will be their only patron and will give them such statutes as he shall please for their better government. Moreover, without having the royal exchequer put to the slightest expense, application will be made to his Holiness for bulls whereby this institution may win greater renown; while it will be subject in all things to the behest and commands of your Majesty and your Council, as ever has been the notable course of the Society of Jesus in those regions, in order that you may clearly see and understand its mode of procedure and how consistent are its actions. As a favor from your Majesty, it prays with the utmost earnestness and respect that you will be pleased to command that the papers and reports bearing on this matter in the secretary’s office be examined and compared—not only those from the present governor, but those from his predecessor; and especially what the latter wrote in the year 49, on the occasion of his referring [to the Council] this lawsuit. Therein will appear the arguments in opposition to the college of Santo Tomas, and the decisions thereon—among others, the fact that its graduates and students have to take oath that they will uphold the teachings of Saint Thomas [of Aquino]. As a matter of fact, in the renowned universities of the world an oath is taken to defend whatever the consensus of Christian piety has decreed—as during these days was sworn to amid public demonstrations and applause, in the presence of your Majesty—relative to the mystery of the conception of the most holy Virgin our Lady.[2] Besides this, by express enactments of law they are forbidden under censures to read and teach other faculties and sciences than those of philosophy and theology. It is therefore unbecoming and in conflict with the said enactments, as well as incompatible with their institute and profession, which forbid them to conduct public universities in the form now claimed. It, moreover, is in manifest prejudice to the right conferred by bulls and privileges on the Society of Jesus, as well as to what has been decreed in its favor with so much toil and expense. And, besides, it may be remarked that the establishment of a university, with courses of medicine, and canon and civil law, in the convent of Santo Domingo would be an improper and absurd proceeding, as they have no teachers who are acquainted with the first principles of these sciences, in default of which there could be but poor instruction, whereas the law requires that the teachers thereof be very learned, besides being endowed with singular talents and qualifications. As the matter is well and generally known, it may be observed that in the Philippines and the city of Manila, where the only persons who treat the sick are Chinese, there is no graduate physician; for no one wishes to go thither from Mexico, as he would be unable to get a living. As regards canon and civil law, graduates therein might go thither every year, if only they could obtain a living and find scholars to whom they might lecture and give instruction. But the city of Manila is so small and confined that—as is evident from the paper here presented with the necessary formalities from Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corquera—it numbers no more than two hundred and seventy citizens. Behold then, your Majesty, under what conditions and in what sort of a place it is sought to establish a regular university of sciences and arts, with chancellor, rector, secretary, beadle, and other officials and teachers who make up its stall—for whose support would be needed twelve thousand ducados of income, no matter how moderate the salaries; whereas, if a portion of this were applied in increasing the number of settlers, with a consequent saving of burdens on the royal exchequer, this would redound to the greater benefit and service of your Majesty. With consideration of the same and whatever besides in fact or law may be of moment, the writer prays and beseeches your Majesty to order the said memorial to be rejected, and allow no other of similar import to be received—with the addition of the declaration, if needed, that the case has already been settled, and the claim is not entitled to a hearing. In conclusion, without prejudice, however, to his plea nor with abandonment of the same, he [i.e., Solana] prays that, should a university be established, it be founded in the college of San Ignacio of the said Society; and on each and every matter relating thereto he files all the petitions needed therefor, wherein he will receive favor with justice, etc.[3]

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[1] Mateo Bermudez was one of the Dominican mission that arrived in the islands in 1626. He ministered in Formosa, and in the Parián of Manila; and was afterward procurator at Madrid and Rome, and visitador to the American provinces. In 1658 he returned to Mexico, remaining there until his death (1673), at the age of eighty.

[2] In the MS. this latter clause is separated from the preceding one, but obviously refers to it. The argument of Solana is: The Dominican school requires the teachings of St. Thomas, “the Angelical Doctor,” to be maintained. But St. Thomas opposed the belief and doctrine of the immaculate conception of the blessed Virgin Mary. In Solana’s day the dogma of the immaculate conception had not yet been defined by the Church; it then was a moot question. But in that day the belief in and teaching of the immaculate conception was common, though not (as said) of duty—Dominicans only, one may say, holding to the contrary. The pupils, then, of Santo Tomas had to swear to uphold what was not common belief, although it was not then heretical.—Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.

[3] Many passages in this document are very involved and elliptical, and in some places the sense is not at all clear. The translation is necessarily somewhat free, at times, in wording; but it is believed that the author’s meaning is, as a rule, accurately rendered.—Rev. T. C. Middleton, O. S. A.

Description of the Philipinas Islands[1]

Although it appears by the information above that in regard to the Philipinas Islands (which belong to the district of the Inquisition of Mexico) it has not been possible to arrange the itinerary, because of the great distance thither from this kingdom; and that the inquisitor visitor, Doctor Don Pedro de Medina Rico, charged its execution by letter to the father-definitor, Fray Diego de Jesus Maria, discalced religious of St. Augustine, and calificador of the Holy Office, as he had labored more than twenty years in the said islands—the said letter being sent in duplicate in the two ships that left this kingdom in this present year of one thousand six hundred and fifty-eight—yet, because the said visitor has heard of the great knowledge of those regions that is possessed by Father Maxino Sola, a religious of the Society of Jesus (who is at present in the City of Mexico, and about to go to the kingdoms of Castilla as procurator-general of the province of Philipinas), in order that the said itinerary might be arranged with greater despatch, and so that in the interim until the coming of the person who shall settle things in those islands, there may be such relation as we are able to have in this book (which must be sent at the first opportunity to the most illustrious and most reverend inquisitor-general and the members of the Council of the general Holy Inquisition), his Lordship ordered me, Ygnaçio de Paz, that, continuing the work, I should set down the information given by the said Father Maxino Sola. And, in obedience to that order, that relation which I have been able to procure with the exercise of all care and minuteness, is as follows.

Archbishopric of Manila

The city of Manila, from which the said archbishopric (as well as all the island) takes its name, occupies the same site as did the largest settlement of the natives of this island when they were heathen, who called it by the same name. It was conquered and happily united to the Spanish crown on May nineteen, one thousand five hundred and seventy-one (the same year of the establishment of the tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Mexico) by the valiant Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, native [of Guipúzcoa: blank space in MS.], and a former citizen of the said City of Mexico, whom his Majesty honored with the title of adelantado of the said islands. The city lies in fourteen degrees of north latitude. The governor lives there, who is the captain-general and president of the royal Audiencia which resides in that city, and consists of four auditors who are also alcaldes of the court, a fiscal, and the chief constable of the court. Their archbishop and the ecclesiastical cabildo live there, the latter consisting of the accustomed dignitaries—three canons (for one of the four canonries there was suppressed by his Majesty), two racioneros, two medio-racioneros, one secular cura, who has charge of the Spaniards, and another who has charge of the natives and mulattoes. They are building at the cost of his Majesty a temple for a cathedral, as that which they had before fell in the ruin caused throughout those islands by the earthquakes in the year one thousand six hundred and forty-four [sic; sc. five]. There is a royal chapel in the Plaza de Armas for the funerals and ministry of the soldiers, and it has a chief chaplain and six secular chaplains, all at his Majesty’s expense. There is a commissary of the tribunal of the Holy Office, counselors, calificadors, a chief constable, and other employes. The said commissary is necessary in the said city, and he will suffice for all the jurisdiction of the archbishopric of Manila, with the exception of the port of Cavitte. Because of the vessels that anchor at the said city from foreign kingdoms, and because it is not easy to cross the bay during certain months of the year, it is advisable for that city to have its own commissary, as will be related later in the proper place. There is also need of the chief constable, four familiars, and two notaries. [There is] a house of the Misericordia with its temple and two seculars as chaplains, where marriages are provided [for girls]. There is another house, called Santta Pottençiana, with its chapel and secular chaplain, where the wives of those who travel and leave the islands in his Majesty’s service are sheltered. There is a royal hospital for the treatment of Spaniards, with its chapel and secular chaplain. The convents of religious in the said city of Manila, in regard to the seniority of their establishment there, are as follows: the calced religious of St. Augustine; the discalced of St. Francisco, of the advocacy of St. James; those of the Society of Jesus; those of St. Dominic; and the discalced of St. Augustine—all with convents and churches of excellent architecture. In addition, the fathers of the Society of Jesus have a seminary with some twenty fellowships under the advocacy of St. Joseph, with a university from which students are graduated in all the faculties. The religious of St. Dominic have another seminary, with not so many fellowships, under the advocacy of St. Thomas, where they also graduate students in all the faculties. In both, lectures are given in grammar, philosophy, and theology. There is a convent with religious women of St. Clare, who are in charge of the religious of St. Francis; a hospital of the Misericordia for poor people and slaves of the Spaniards, the administration of which is in charge of the religious of St. John of God, whose convent is located at the port of Cavite. There is a cabildo and magistracy, with two alcaldes-in-ordinary, a chief constable, regidors, and a clerk of cabildo; and an accountancy of results, with its accountant and officials. There are also three royal officials, with their employes. There are about sixty Spanish citizens, not counting those who occupy military posts. The latter amount usually to about four hundred men. There are many servants, of various nations, amounting to more than four thousand men and women.

Hamlets falling in the circumference of the city of Manila

Outside and near the walls of the city lies the parish of Santiago where one beneficed secular has charge of all the Spaniards who live outside the said walls. The village of San Antonio is also near the walls, and is in charge of a beneficed secular.

The village of Quiapo, which lies on the other side of the river, is administered by the said beneficed secular.

The village called La Hermita, in whose temple is the venerated image of Nuestra Señora de Guia, is two musket-shots away from the walls of Manila, and is administered by a beneficed secular.

The village called Parián, the alcaicería where the Chinese merchants and workmen live—most of that people being infidels, and few of them Christian—are in charge of religious of St. Dominic. This place is close to the walls.

There is a small village next the walls called San Juan, which is in charge of the discalced religious of St. Augustine.

Another village, somewhat farther from the walls than the said San Juan, and called Malatte, is in charge of the calced Augustinian fathers.

Another very near village, called Dilao, is where some Japanese Christians live, separated from the natives; and their administration, as well as that of the natives, is in charge of religious of St. Francis.

There is another small village contiguous to that of Dilao, called San Miguel, which has a house of retreat for the Japanese women who are exiled from their country because they follow our holy faith. They, as well as the natives of the said village, are in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus.

All of the said villages, so far as the secular affairs are concerned, belong to the jurisdiction of the alcalde-mayor of Tondo, who lives in the village of that name on the other side of the river. That village is densely populated with natives and Chinese mestizos who are in charge of calced religious of St. Augustine.

Still nearer the river is the village of Milongo [sic; sc. Binondo] which is almost wholly composed of Chinese mestizos. It is in charge of religious of St. Dominic.

The religious of St. Dominic administer and care for a Chinese hospital which is located on the bank of the said river.

On the same shore of the river is a village named Santa Cruz, composed of married Christian Chinese, who are in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus.

Up-stream toward the lake are various villages. One is called San Sebastian, and is in charge of discalced Augustinians.

Another is called Santa Ana and is administered by religious of St. Francis.

Another, called San Pedro, is in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus.

Another, called Guadalupe, is in charge of calced Augustinians.

Another, called Pasic, is in charge of calced Augustinian religious.

The village of San Matheo is in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus.

The village of Taitai is in charge of the said religious of the Society.

The village of Antipolo is in charge of the same religious of the Society of Jesus.

The village of San Palo [i.e., Sampaloc] is in charge of religious of St. Francis.

Coasting along from the city of Manila to the port of Cavite, where the ships that sail from this kingdom anchor, and across the said river, is the village of Parañaca, which is in charge of the calced Augustinian religious.

Port of Cabitte

The port of Cabitte is six or seven leguas distant from Manila by land, and three by sea, and the seamen live there with a Spanish garrison; they have their castellan, who is also the chief justice. There is a secular cura who ministers with the help of his assistant and sacristan. There is a college of the Society of Jesus; a convent of St. Francis, another of St. Dominic, and another of discalced Augustinians, as well as a hospital in charge of the religious of St. John of God. The cura of that port also has charge of the natives living about the walls, who are almost all workmen who work at the building of galleons. The same cura also has charge of the small villages which are located on the other side of the port. Another called Cabitte el Viexo [i.e., Old Cavite] is in charge of fathers of the Society of Jesus. At a distance of four or five leguas about this port are located some cattle-ranches and some farmlands belonging to the citizens of Manila, which are in charge of a secular cura.

In the jurisdiction of the alcalde-mayor of Tondo, which is the place nearest to the city of Manila besides the aforesaid villages (which all belong to him, except the port of Cabitte), is the village of Tegui, close to the lake. It is in charge of calced Augustinian religious.

In the interior are located the villages of Silan and Ymdan which are in charge of fathers of the Society of Jesus.

Up-stream and next to the jurisdiction of Tondo begins the jurisdiction of the lake of Bari [sic; sc. Bay] which lies east of Manila; this jurisdiction lies along the shore of the said lake. The chief village is called Barii (whence the name of the said lake) and it is in charge of calced Augustinian religious.

The village of San Pablo, distant six leguas inland, is in charge of the same calced Augustinian religious.

There is a hospital located on the bank of the said lake, which is in charge of religious of St. Francis. These religious have charge of most of the villages of that jurisdiction with the exception of that of Binan and its subordinate villages.

Coasting along Manila Bay, one comes first to the island of Maribeles, a small jurisdiction in charge of a Spaniard, who is corregidor and serves also as sentinel. Its villages are in charge of discalced Augustinian religious, with the exception of that of Maragondon and its subordinate villages, which are in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus.

Leaving the bay, and pursuing the same voyage made by the ships that go to Nueva España, on the left and some fourteen leguas from Cavitte is the jurisdiction of Balayan or Bombon, located on a small lake which bears that name. It has an alcalde-mayor; most of its villages are in charge of seculars, and the others, of calced religious of St. Augustine.

Opposite the said jurisdiction and to the right, lie the islands of Mindoro and Luban, which are in charge of secular priests. They have an alcalde-mayor, to whom belongs also the island of Marinduque, which is in charge of fathers of the Society of Jesus.

Traveling along the other side of the land of Manila,[2] one encounters the jurisdiction of Bulacan, which is but small, and is administered by religious of the calced Augustinians—as also is the jurisdiction of Panpanga, which is large and fertile, and contains many large villages.

Fourteen or fifteen leguas past the island of Mindoro to the southwest, are the islands called Calamianes, which number about seventeen. They are small and most of them now subdued; and they lie between the island of Mindoro and that called Paragua, which is the third of the said Philipinas Islands in size.[3] A small portion of the latter island is subject to the Spaniards; it is one hundred and fifty leguas in circumference, and its greatest latitude is nineteen degrees.

In the islands called Calamianes is located an alcalde-mayor with a small presidio, as it lies opposite the Camucones enemy. The administration of all those islands, and of that called Cuio, is in charge of discalced Augustinian religious.

Bishopric of Cagayan or Nueva Segovia

The city where the seat of the bishopric is located is called Nueva Segovia. It has a Spanish presidio and its fort, whose castellan is the alcalde-mayor of that jurisdiction. It is in charge of one secular cura. The religious of St. Dominic have a convent in the said city. The jurisdiction is about eighty leguas long and forty wide. All the province of Cagayan is in charge of religious of St. Dominic except the village and port of Viga, which is in charge of a secular cura.

Next to that province on the side toward the archbishopric of Manila, lies the province called Ylocos. It is very fertile and abounds in gold and cotton, and is densely populated. It has an alcalde-mayor, and all its administration is in charge of calced Augustinian religious.

The province called Pangasinan is next to the said province of Ylocos. It is densely populated, fertile, and abounds in gold. The religious of St. Dominic have charge of it, with the exception of some small villages on the seacoast, which are in charge of discalced Augustinian religious. All those three provinces together with the islands called Babullanes belong to the said bishopric of Cagaian. They lie north of Manila. There are many people yet to be converted, some of them being rebels who have taken to the mountains, while there are others who pay their tributes although they are not Christians.

Bishopric of Camarines or Nueva Cazeres

In the part opposite the bishopric of Cagayan lies the bishopric called Camarines or Nueva Cazeres. Its city, called [Nueva] Cazeres, is the seat of the bishopric and has a secular cura and a convent of religious of St. Francis which has a hospital. All that province of Camarines, and another one called Paracale is in charge of religious of St. Francis; and they are in the jurisdiction of one alcalde-mayor.

The province called Calilaya or Taiabas, which has another alcalde-mayor, is also in the charge of religious of St. Francis, except the villages called Bondo which are in charge of seculars. The said jurisdiction has another province called Canttanduanes, which has its own corregidor; and some small islands a short distance from the mainland. Those islands, which are called Burias, Masbate, and Tican, are in charge of seculars.

The islands of Romblon and Bantton, which belong to that jurisdiction of Canttanduanes, are in charge of religious of the discalced Augustinians. Those two bishoprics of Nueva Segovia and Nueva Cazeres are located in the island of Manila. That island is about two hundred leguas or so long and runs from the east to the north, from about thirteen and one-half degrees [of latitude] to about nineteen or a trifle less. In the east it has a width of about one day’s journey from one sea to the other, or a trifle more; and in the north is thirty or forty leguas wide. The total circumference of the island is about four hundred leguas.

Bishopric of Sebu or Nombre de Jesus

The see of that bishopric is located in the city called Sebu, as it took that name from that of the whole island; the Spaniards gave it the name of Nombre de Jesus. It was so called from the image of the child Jesus which was found by the adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpe in the Indian settlement in the year one thousand five hundred and sixty-five. It appears that that image was left in that island in the year one thousand five hundred and twenty-one, when Hernando de Magallanes (who died there) arrived at that place. Only one secular cura lives there, for although dignitaries, consisting of a dean and the others, have been assigned to Sebu, they are so only in name; and those dignities are enjoyed by the seculars who have charge of the places nearest to the said city of Sebu. In that city is located a convent of calced Augustinian religious, which was the first convent to be founded in the said Philipinas Islands. There is a college of the Society of Jesus, and a convent of discalced Augustinian religious. As far as the secular power is concerned, there is an excellent stone fort with a Spanish presidio, which is governed by an alcalde-mayor who generally bears the title of “lieutenant of the captain-general.” There is a cabildo and magistracy, with alcaldes-in-ordinary and regidors. That island is somewhat prolonged for fifteen or twenty leguas, and is eight leguas wide. It has a circumference of eighty or ninety leguas, and extends northeast and southwest in ten degrees of latitude.[4] The city has a Parián or alcaicería of Chinese who are in charge of a beneficed secular. About it are some natives who are in charge of calced and discalced Augustinian religious.

The nearest island to the above island is that called Bohol, which runs north and south for some fifteen leguas, with a width of eight or ten leguas and a circumference of forty. It is all in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus. As regards secular affairs, it belongs to the jurisdiction of Sebu.

Next the said island of Bohol lies that called Leite. It also extends north and south, and has a length of some thirty leguas, and a width in some parts of only three leguas, while its circumference is about ninety or one hundred leguas. It is also in charge of fathers of the Society of Jesus.

Next the said island of Leite lies that called Samar or Ybabao, the last of the Philipinas. Its coast is bathed by the Mexican Sea, and it makes a strait with the land of Manila which is called San Bernardino. By that strait enter and leave the ships of the Nueva España line. It lies between thirteen and one-half degrees and eleven degrees south latitude, in which latitude it extends for the space of two and one-half degrees. It is also in charge of fathers of the Society of Jesus. That island and that of Leite have one alcalde-mayor.

North of the island of Sebu lies the island of Negros, which extends between nine and ten and one-half degrees, and has some hundred leguas of circumference. It is almost all in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus, except one mission which the discalced Augustinian religious have there.

Northeast of the same island of Sebu lies the island called Bantallan with four other islets, all of which are in charge of one secular.

Lower down and near Manila is the island called Panai, which is very fertile and densely populated. It is some hundred leguas in circumference, and runs east and west, and north and south in ten degrees of latitude. The city of Arebalo or Oton is located in that island, and an alcalde-mayor lives there—who is also the purveyor for the fleets of those islands, and of Mindanao and its presidios. The cura of the town is a secular; but the Spaniards of the presidio are in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus; they have a college in the said city, and also have charge of the district called Hilo Hilo. The balance of the said island of Panai has an alcalde-mayor, and is in charge of calced Augustinian religious.

There are two other districts in the said jurisdiction which are in charge of seculars. All the above islands belong to the bishopric of Sebu, as do also the great island of Mindanao, with Jolo, and their adjacent islands.

The island of Mindanao is the largest of all the Philipinas Islands, next to that of Manila. In its largest part that island extends from five and one-half degrees northeastward to nine degrees—a distance of some seventy leguas. Its two headlands, which are called San Augustin and that of La Caldera, bound a coast which runs east and west for some hundred and ten leguas. That island has at the port located about its middle, called Sanbuangan, an excellent Spanish presidio with a stone fort which is well equipped with artillery. That fort has its governor and castellan, who is also governor and castellan of the islands of Jolo, Baçilan, and some other smaller islands. The administration of all the islands called Mindanao, Jolo, and the others, both Spaniards and natives, is in charge of religious of the Society of Jesus.

From the cape of San Augustin northeastward in that island is the jurisdiction called Caraga and Buttuan, which has its own alcalde-mayor. Its administration is in charge of discalced Augustinian fathers.

Along the coast toward the vendaval [i.e., southwest], on that same island is the jurisdiction of Yligan, the principal part of which lies on a lake of the same name. It is in charge of fathers of the Society of Jesus.

The district called Dappitan in that same island is in charge of fathers of the Society of Jesus.

Terrenate

The islands called Terrenate or the Clove Islands are located for the most part under the equinoctial line toward the east; and are three hundred leguas distant from Malaca in India, and slightly less from Manila, toward the southeast. The islands are five in number, extend north and south, and are quite near one another. The largest, from which the others take their name, is that of Terrenate.[5] Two leguas from it is that of Tidore, and then comes Mutiel. The fourth is called Maquien and the fifth Bachan. All of them lie opposite the land called Battachina. Those islands of Terrenate have various Spanish presidios, the principal one of which is in the same island of Terrenate where the governor lives; he is the governor of all the other presidios. The Dutch have a settlement in that island with a good fort, all for the sake of the profit [that they obtain from the] cloves and nutmeg. The number of Christians there is small, although there were many in the time of the glorious apostle of Yndia, St. Francis Xavier. It has always been administered by religious of the Society of Jesus, as well as the natives of the island of Siau, who are the most affectioned to our holy faith. The Spaniards of Terrenate are in charge of a secular cura belonging to the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Cochin in Oriental Yndia; for the administration of those islands has always been in charge of that bishopric and province of Cochin, although the ministers of the Society of Jesus have been appointed since the time of the revolt of Portugal by the superior of the said Society in the province of Philipinas. The stipends of the cura and of the other evangelical workers are paid from the royal treasury of Manila, as are also the salaries of the governor and the presidios. In the island of Terrenate is a house of the Society of Jesus, whence they go out to administer the other islands and presidios. It has also a royal hospital which is in charge of the discalced religious of St. Francis. The cura of that island and presidio was withdrawn to Manila when Portugal rebelled, and the archbishop chose a cura from his archbishopric; but it was a question whether he had any jurisdiction for it, so that the appointment of cura passed again in due course to the proprietary cura of the jurisdiction and bishopric of Cochin, which is in actual charge of the said presidio [and will remain thus] until the determination and commands of the king our sovereign are known.

The commissaries that seem necessary in the said islands, and in the places where such office will be desirable, are the following.

1. In the city of Manila, with the jurisdiction of all the archbishopric except the port of Cavitte. On account of the vessels that anchor in the latter place from foreign kingdoms, and because during some months in the year it is not easy to cross the bay, it is advisable for that port to have its own commissary.

2. In the said city of Manila, the said employes who are mentioned in its description.

3. In the fort of Sanboangan in the island of Mindanao, and the islands subordinate to it.

4. In the city of Sebu, whose commissary can serve for all the islands called Pinttados.

5. In the town of Arebalo or Oton; the same person may be commissary of its jurisdiction and of that of Panai and the island of Negros.

6. In the presidio of Yligan and Caraga.

7. There could also be one in the islands of Calamianes and the islands subordinate to them.

8. Another commissary in the jurisdiction of Cagaian, Ylocos, and Pangasinan.

9. Another in the forts of Terrenate. This is most necessary, as the Spaniards of the said forts are among Dutch and Moros, and so far from the city of Manila.

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[1] This description of the Philippines appears in a manuscript book of an itinerary of the district of the Inquisition of Mexico, made by the order of the bishop of Plasencia, Diego de Arce Reynoso, a member of his Majesty’s Council and inquisitor-general of his kingdoms and seigniories, and given to Pedro de Medina Rico, visitor of the Inquisition of the City of Mexico and its districts. The Philippines have place in this itinerary, as they were under the Inquisition of Mexico. This general visit or itinerary was to include a general review of all things affecting the Inquisition, its establishments and employees.

[2] That is, along the bay shore in the other direction—northward from the city of Manila.

[3] This is a misstatement, for the three islands of Samar, Negros, and Panay are larger than Paragua, the areas of the four islands in square miles being respectively, 5,031, 4,881, 4,611, and 4,027. See Census of Philippine Islands, ii, p. 30.

[4] The island of Cebú has an area of 1,762 square miles; Bohol, 1,441; 2,722; 5,031; Samar, 5,031; Negros, 4,881; Bantayan (the Bantallan of the text), 47; Panai, 4,611; Mindanao, 36,292. See Census of Philippine Islands, ii, p. 30.

[5] Bachian, not Ternate, is the largest of the Moluccas, its area being 800 square geographical miles, while that of Ternate is only 11.5. See Crawfurd’s Dictionary.