In 1761, King George III. had just succeeded to the throne of England, and the protracted contentions with France had been suspended for a while. It was soon evident, however, that efforts were being employed to extinguish the power and prestige of Great Britain, and with this object a convention had been entered into between France and Spain known as the “Family Compact.” It was so called because it was an alliance made by the three branches of the House of Bourbon; namely, Louis XV. of France, Charles III. of Spain, and his son Ferdinand, who, in accordance with the Treaty of Vienna, had ascended the throne of Naples. Spain engaged to unite her forces with those of France against England on the 1st of May, 1762, if the war still lasted, in which case France would restore Minorca to Spain. Pitt was convinced of the necessity of meeting the coalition by force of arms, but he was unable to secure the support of his Ministry to declare war, and he therefore retired from the premiership. The succeeding Cabinet was, nevertheless, compelled to adopt his policy, and, after having lost many advantages by delaying their decision, war was declared against France and Spain.
The British were successful everywhere. In the West Indies, the Caribbean Islands and Havana were captured, with great booty, by Rodney and Monckton, while a British fleet was dispatched to the Philippine Islands with orders to take Manila.
There are many versions of this event given by different historians, and among them there is not wanting an author who, following the Spanish custom, has accounted for defeat by alleging treason.
On the 14th of September, 1762, a British vessel arrived in the Bay of Manila, refused to admit Spanish officers on board, and after taking soundings she sailed again out of the harbor.
In the evening of the 22d of September, the British squadron, composed of thirteen ships, under the command of Admiral Cornish, entered the bay, and the next day two British officers were deputed to demand the surrender of the citadel, which was refused.
Brigadier-general Draper thereupon disembarked his troops, and again called upon the city to yield. This citation being defied, the bombardment commenced the next day. The fleet anchored in front of a powder-magazine, took possession of the churches of Malate, Hermita, San Juan de Bagumbayan and Santiago. Two picket guards made an unsuccessful sortie against them. The whole force in Manila at the time was the king’s regiment, which mustered about six hundred men, and eighty pieces of artillery. The British forces consisted of one thousand five hundred European troops (one regiment of infantry and two companies of artillery), three thousand seamen, eight hundred Sepoy fusileers and one thousand four hundred Sepoy pioneers, making a total of six thousand eight hundred and thirty men.
There was no governor-general here at the time, and the only person with whom the British commander could treat was the acting-governor, the Archbishop Manuel Antonio Rojo, who was willing to yield. His authority was, however, set aside by a rebellious war party, who placed themselves under the leadership of a magistrate of the supreme court named Simon de Anda y Salazar. This individual, instead of leading them to battle, fled to the province of Bulacan, the day before the capture of Manila, in a prahu with a few natives, carrying with him some money and half a ream of official stamped paper. He knew perfectly well that he was defying the legal authority of the acting-governor, and was, in fact, in open rebellion against his mandate. It was necessary, therefore, to give an official color to his acts by issuing his orders and proclamations on government-stamped paper, so that their validity might be recognized if he subsequently succeeded in justifying his action at court.
On the 24th of September the Spanish batteries of San Diego and San Andres opened fire, but with little effect. A richly laden galleon—the “Philipino”—was known to be on her way from Mexico to Manila, but the British ships which were sent in quest of her fell in with another galleon—the “Trinidad”—and brought their prize to Manila. Her treasure amounted to about two million five hundred thousand dollars.
A Frenchman resident in Manila, Monsieur Faller, made an attack on the British, who forced him to retire, and he was then accused by the Spaniards of treason. Artillery fire was kept up on both sides. The archbishop’s nephew was taken prisoner, and an officer was sent with him to hand him over to his uncle. However, a party of natives fell upon them and murdered them all. The officer’s head having been cut off, it was demanded by General Draper. Excuses were made for not giving it up, and the general determined thenceforth to continue the warfare with vigor and punish this atrocity. The artillery was increased by another battery of three mortars, placed behind the Church of Santiago, and the bombardment continued.
Five thousand native recruits arrived from the provinces, and out of this number two thousand Pampangos were selected. They were divided into three columns, in order to advance by different routes and attack respectively the Church of Santiago, Malate and Hermita, and the troops on the beach. At each place they were driven back. The leader of the attack on Malate and Hermita—Don Santiago Orendain—was declared a traitor. The first two columns were dispersed with great confusion and loss. The third column retreated before they had sustained or inflicted any loss. The natives fled to their villages in dismay, and on the 5th of October the British entered the walled city. After a couple of hours’ bombardment the forts of San Andres and San Eugenio were demolished, the artillery overturned, and the enemy’s fusileers and sappers were killed.