For a hundred and fifty years there was fighting over the royal galleons. At one time, when Spain and England were at war, there were six years during which no galleon reached Manila. The country was in such sore straits that even the Chinese revolted, and the Spanish were nearly starved.
Spain, however, seemed to learn no lesson from these experiences. She went on as of old, sending one galleon a year, richly laden, at the mercy of the enemy, “putting all her eggs into one basket,” as the saying is, and when the “one basket” came to mishap all was lost.
Besides keeping a lookout for the galleons, the Dutch ships were wont to lie in wait outside Manila harbor, to catch Chinese and Japanese trading junks coming into port. In this way they often captured rich prizes, and made still greater drain upon the islands. It was necessary for the colony to raise large sums of money and many bodies of fighting men to go against these ships in order to protect the harbor from them. Many battles were fought with the Dutch in Philippine waters, and many times the efforts of the natives brought victory to the Spanish side.
But it was a hard and bitter experience. The colony lived in a state of constant danger and of real want from this source. Not until the middle of the eighteenth century, when peace was made with Holland, had the people of these islands any security of life or commerce.
Summary.—In 1599 the first real attempts were made to settle in Mindanao. An expedition was sent south, but failed, and its leader was killed. The Spanish only stirred up the Moros against themselves, so that the pirates came north and laid waste the coast towns. In 1603 two Chinese mandarins came to Manila, looking for a mountain of gold which they had heard was near Cavite. This visit awakened a fear that the Chinese meant to seize Manila, and the city was made ready against invasion. The Chinese of Manila were driven by abuse to make an attack on some natives, and the Spanish then fell upon them, killing over 25,000. The Spanish themselves lost the pick of their soldiers and cavaliers that day. Owing to Spain’s war with the Dutch, the islands at this time, and for many years after, suffered great losses and hardships. The Dutch used to lie in wait to capture the galleons that carried merchandise and money back and forth between Manila and Mexico. Whenever a galleon was lost, the whole country suffered; but the weight fell heaviest upon the natives, who, by extra tribute and taxes, had to make the loss good.
Questions.—Tell about the first expedition to settle Mindanao. What did the Moros do to avenge what they deemed Spanish invasion? Give an account of the battle against the Chinese. What led up to this battle? How was trade carried on between the islands and Mexico? What was the result of the capture of a galleon by Spain’s enemies? Why was Spain’s restriction of her colonies’ trade a bad thing for her?
Chapter VII.
THE SPANISH AND THE FILIPINOS.
At the time when Spain took the Philippine Islands and began to rule them, every country in Europe was busy setting up colonies in the newly discovered parts of the world. If the king owed something to a troublesome subject, or wished to reward or please a favorite, an easy way to pay the debtor or help the favorite was to make him a governor or other official in some far-off new colony. In turn the governor thought it only fair to make his colony as profitable to the Crown as he could. That he had no right to oppress other peoples in order to do this was a matter about which he never thought.