[5] The "old style" calendar authorized by the Council of Nice (A.D. 325) was based on erroneous conclusions, and consequently contained an error which, steadily increasing, amounted to ten days at the time of its correction. This was done by Gregory XIII, in a brief issued in March, 1582; he reformed the calendar, directing that the fifth day of October in that year be reckoned as the fifteenth. The vernal equinox, which in the old calendar had receded to March 11, was thus restored to its true place, March 21. The "new style" calendar is also known as the Gregorian, from its founder; the system adopted by Gregory was calculated by Luigi Lilio Ghiraldi, a learned astronomer of Naples.
[6] "And he shall be a wild man; his hand will be against all men, and all men's hands against him."
[7] João de Barros, an official in the India House at Lisbon, wrote a history of Portuguese achievements in the Orient, entitled Dos feitos que os Portugueses fixerão no descobrimento e conquista dos mares e terras do Oriente (Lisbon, 1552), décadas i-iv (incomplete). The other historian here mentioned is Jeronimo Osorio da Fonseca, bishop of Silves in Algarve; the book referred to is De rebus Emmanuelis regis Lusitaniæ (Olysippone, 1571).
[8] Afonso de Albuquerque (born in 1453, died in 1515) was perhaps the most celebrated among the Portuguese conquerors of India; he was the second viceroy of the Portuguese possessions there, and founded its capital, Goa. From his letters and reports to King Manoel of Portugal a book was compiled by his son Afonso, entitled Commentarios do Grande Afonso Dalbuquerque (Lisboa, 1557); see also W.D. Birch's English translation, Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque (Hakluyt Society, London, nos. 53, 55, 62, 69, of first series). Therein may be found a history of the events mentioned in our text.
[9] Apparently referring to the practice of sodomy; cf. a similar statement in Vol. IV, p. 51.
[10] The archbishop of Mexico at this time was Pedro de Moya y Contreras, who had come to Mexico in 1571 as chief inquisitor of the Holy Office. On October 20, 1573, he assumed the duties of archbishop; and in 1583 was appointed visitador (i.e., inspector) of the courts, in which office he was engaged during three years. In 1584 he was appointed viceroy of Nueva España, surrendering this post, a year later, to Villamanrique. All these offices were held by him at one time. In June, 1586, he returned to Spain, where he died at the close of the year 1591. In January of that year he had been appointed president of the Council of the Indias.
[11] "The rumors of the occurrence of this metal in Panay and Leyte have failed of verification. Accidental losses of the metal by prospectors or surveyors sometimes lead to reports of the discovery of deposits." (U.S. Philippine Gazetteer, p. 84.)
[12] The reference in the text is obscure as to the location of this fort; but Morga says (Sucesos, ch. iii) that Azambuja commanded at Tidore, and requested aid from Peñalosa to conquer Ternate. "This fleet, after reaching Maluco, did not succeed in its object. From this time forward, succor of men and provisions continued to be sent from the Philippines to the fortress of Tidore."
[13] Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa, who came to the islands as governor in 1580, died in 1583, before he had completed the third year of his service in that capacity. During his funeral, which was held at the Augustinian convent in Manila, sparks from a lighted taper accidentally set fire to the building, which quickly spread to others near by; and soon all the public buildings and the greater part of the city were destroyed in the flames. Before Peñalosa's death, he had appointed his kinsman, Diego Ronquillo, his successor ad interim in the government. See La Concepción's Hist. Philipinas, ii, pp. 86-89.
[14] Apparently a reference to Fray de Vascones, whose letter to the king follows this. This friar mentions himself as a "native religious" (indigeno religioso), in which connection may appropriately be cited Crawfurd's remark (Dict. Ind. Islands, p. 96): "The [Chinese] settlers, whenever it is in their power, form connections with the native women of the country; and hence has arisen a mixed race, numerous in the older settlements, known to the Malays under name of Pâranakan China, literally, 'Chinese of the womb,' that is, Chinese of native mothers; and called in the Philippines, Sangley, a word of which the origin is unknown."