Next to the island of Mindoro, and in the direction of this city, lies the small island of Luban, with about five hundred tributarios. Its inhabitants are well disposed, and have asked me many times for Christian teaching; but, for lack of ministers to send to them, they cannot have it.
This is the most trustworthy relation that your Majesty can have, in order that your Majesty may see clearly the great need for ministers who shall labor for the conversion of these infidels, and for the preservation of those who have already received the faith, but are falling back into their idolatrous practices, because they have been abandoned by those who baptized them. Many of the islands named in this relation I have visited personally, and concerning the others I have been informed by those familiar with them; and, although it is not possible to know the exact truth, I have tried to ascertain it as nearly Page 45as I could. All of these islands are included in your Majesty's kingdom; all pay tribute, and in sufficient quantities to entitle them to receive instruction. Since your Majesty has in your dominions so many and so excellent religious and ecclesiastics, who, if your Majesty give the order, will prepare to come hither, may your Majesty feel so strongly the ills of this land and its lack of religious workers, that you will order to come hither as many as are needed for the salvation of the great number of souls who are perishing here for want of religious teaching. Your Majesty should understand that, when we speak of such an island or town having so many tributarios, we mean married men, or two single men who make one whole tribute; so that when there are one thousand tributarios, it follows that there must be two thousand persons. And it will happen most frequently that the number will reach three or four thousand, counting one or two children to each household. From the foregoing your Majesty will realize clearly the countless number of souls under your Majesty's charge, and who are waiting for your Majesty to provide them with ministers of religion, in order that they may be drawn out of their present darkness, and placed on the pathway of salvation. At Manila, June twenty-fifth, 1585 [sic; should be 1588]. Page 46
[1] This document is published in Cartas de Indias (pp. 637–652), under the title, “Letter of petition from the bishop of Manila to the president of the Council of the Indias, giving information of the religious condition and needs of the Filipinas Islands; December, 1585.” This date is incorrect, as shown by the internal evidence of the document itself, and probably arises from some error in the transcription from the original; the cabildo's letter was dated Dec. 31, 1586, and the bishop's on June 25, 1588 (incorrectly printed 1585 in Cartas de Indias). The allusions in this letter indicate that it was addressed to the king, rather than to the president of the council.
[2] Span., ynsigne é siempre leal ciudad de Manilla; see the royal decree conferring this title, in Vol. III, pp. 250, 251.
[3] Span., naguatatos, originally a Mexican word.
[4] The alcaicería (silk-market) for the Chinese, where their trade was exclusively carried on, was at first located on the Pasig River, opposite Manila, and was established by Peñalosa (1581?). In 1583 it was brought within the city (Vol. V, p. 237) by his temporary successor, Diego Ronquillo, and was generally styled Page 28n“the Parián.” An interesting description of it is given by Salazar in a document, dated 1590, which appears in the present volume, post. The Parián was long the property of the city; it was destroyed under Governor Basco y Vargas (1778–87), to make room for other edifices, but was rebuilt by him in another location; it was finally destroyed in 1860. See Buzeta and Bravo's Diccionario, ii, p. 229; and Los Chinos en Filipinas (Manila, 1886).
[5] Lake Bombón, or Taal (Vol. III, p. 82).
[6] We here follow the text as given in Cartas de Indias (dos mill); but this number, if all the Indians in this province were allotted, and the number of those in the royal encomienda is correctly given, should be seven thousand four hundred.
[7] In 1579 Gabriel de Ribera, who had been one of Legazpi's officers, was sent to conquer Mindanao—an undertaking, however, which was unsuccessful. Later, he explored the coasts of Borneo and Patan, and was afterward sent by Peñalosa to Spain, to render an account of the conquests thus far made in the Indian archipelago. As a reward for Ribera's services, Felipe II conferred upon him the title of Mariscal de Bonbon; it is he who is referred to in our text.