The new governor-general was named Guido de Lavazares (wē´dō dā lä vä thär´ās), and he was a very different sort of man from Legaspi. He was more warlike and less wise, and he liked to meddle in matters which did not concern him. During his term of office, he went to the aid of a king of Borneo who had been dethroned by his rebellious subjects, and helped the king to regain his throne.
He was so elated with his success in doing this that he became ambitious. He so far forgot common sense that he wanted King Philip to let him and his Philippine forces make war on China and conquer that country for Spain. He could not have done this, and the king of Spain was too sensible to let him try. Later, however, the governor-general had all he wished of fighting the Chinese.
After Legaspi’s death his grandson, Juan Salcedo, went on with the work of setting up Spanish rule in the islands. He passed through the northern part of Luzon, and wherever he went told the people that Philip II. was their king. He made it a point always to make friends with the great chief of any tribe to which he went. This chief he would win over to swear fealty to Spain. Then Salcedo would leave him to rule as before, only in the name of the king.
He promised to help the chiefs against their enemies, and was ready, with his soldiers, to fight their battles whenever they needed him. In turn he trusted them to be loyal to the king, and to keep their people from rebelling. He did not try to improve the country in any way, or to teach the people anything that would help them to make it better. His one idea was to win territory for his king. This, indeed, was all that the king wanted him to do.
Spain wanted much territory, a wide dominion, more than she wanted loyal subjects. It was this greed for power and for wealth that caused her downfall, and in the end lost for her the rich country which she had gained at great cost.
Salcedo, after all, was a far better man and kinder to the people than were most of those who came after him. He had much of that wise kindliness which made Legaspi a good ruler. He took the country by force, but he was not a tyrant. He did not oppress the people, nor did he make unwise laws to govern them.
He made his headquarters in Ilocos Sur, meaning to rule the northern provinces from there. He had, however, hardly settled down when news reached him of a great danger that threatened Manila. Gathering all his forces he marched southward as fast as his army could travel, to help Martin de Goiti, who was still in charge of Manila, to defend the city. It was this same danger, which so alarmed Salcedo, that gave Guido de Lavazares his wish to fight the Chinese. It was a most unexpected danger, and came without warning upon the colony.
At about the time when Legaspi was founding his capital at Manila, a Chinese pirate named Li-ma-hong (lē mä hong´) was sailing the waters of the China Sea. He led a large force of men as lawless as himself, and, as time went on, he became the terror of sea-going folk all about there. He grew so bold, and his pirate fleet so strong, that he dared to attack even the great war junks of China. At last the Chinese Government declared him an outlaw, and put a price on his head. After this the China Sea was not a safe place for him, so he made up his mind to go somewhere else.
PLAZA DE GOITI, MANILA.