It is my will that you have a retinue of twelve halberdiers as a bodyguard; the said halberdiers shall draw the same pay as soldiers, and shall have a chief or captain, who shall draw fifteen pesos monthly. Although their principal duty must be to act as a retinue, and this is done and ordered on account of what pertains to the authority and dignity of your offices, you are advised that they must likewise perform military service whenever occasion demands.
Inasmuch as I have been informed that many of the soldiers sent from Nueva España to the said islands are lads, mestizos, and some Indians; that they have no weapons; and that a portion of them are pages and servants to the captains and other persons, who, together with their masters, under the pretext and name of soldiers draw their pay—I charge and order you, now and henceforth, not to receive or admit as soldiers any Indians from Nueva España. On the contrary, the viceroy [of New Spain] must be informed Page 229that he is not to send them; and the Indians, that they shall not be received or admitted; and of the mestizos only those who merit it, and whom you think very well fitted for it. None of the others shall be sent who has not attained the age of sixteen years and over, and a soldier shall not be the page or servant of any person; for while he acts in such capacity, he shall not receive soldier's pay. In all of the above, I charge you to take strict account, so that nothing may be done, nor shall you permit it, to the contrary.
Gomez Perez Dasmarinas left the city of Manila walled with stone wherever it was necessary, and constructed a fort and tower in those parts where he was ordered. Because of the importance of keeping that citadel well defended, you shall, as soon as you shall arrive, inspect the said forts and wall, and shall see that they are kept in order and well maintained. If they are incomplete, you shall finish them, and advise me of everything.
The said Gomez Perez was likewise ordered to construct another fort in Yllocos or Cagayan as a protection against the Indian, Japanese, and Chinese robbers; another in Çebu, as a protection against the Borneans and Malucos; and another in Panpanga, as a protection against the Çambales. He was instructed to maintain the continual care and vigilance required for the preservation of lands so new, remote, and surrounded by enemies. He was ordered especially to beware of the natives of the country, who are numerous, and have but little endurance and permanence in the faith; of four or five thousand Chinese who live there, and go to and fro upon their trading voyages; of the Japanese who resort there regularly; of the Malucos and Borneans, who are irritated, and Page 230have vaunted themselves boldly and openly; and most especially of the English Lutherans, who go to those coasts. Although I have been told that the said Gomez Perez had constructed the said forts, whereby to check the incursions of those nations, I charge you that, if they have been constructed, you look carefully to their maintenance. If they need anything for their completion, you shall complete them. You shall proceed cautiously, and keep ever on the watch, since you see what happened to the said Gomez Perez by trusting to the apparent good faith of the Sangleys.
The said Gomez Perez was charged also to construct a moderate-sized coasting fleet of a few galleys or fragatas to guard and cruise along the coasts, and prevent the thefts and damages that the Japanese were wont to inflict throughout them, especially in the districts of Gagaian and Yllocos. There they were wont to capture the Chinese vessels that bring food and merchandise to the said islands. This was the cause of great loss, and an impediment to commerce and plenty. Likewise the fleet could be used to prevent the Chinese, on their return to their country, from harming the natives of the above-mentioned islands, to afford protection against Chinese and Bornean pirates, and to oppose any other acts or attempts of foreigners. In conformity with this order, the said Gomez Perez had eight galleys built, which he had well manned. They were of great use for the protection and defense of those lands. Therefore it is desirable that they be maintained. Hence I order you to see that they are well manned and provisioned. You must keep close watch over the conscripts, so that the fate of Gomez Perez may not occur again. You shall have another galley built to Page 231replace the one lost. Inasmuch as you must maintain the roll of men complete, you are advised that if you find that the scruples raised by certain men, in regard to the Indian slaves bought by the said Gomez Perez in order to man the said galleys, as there were no other men available for them, are still in force, then it will be advisable for you and the archbishop, together with those persons whom you both think advisable, to discuss this matter, and to determine how the galleys can be maintained and manned without the said scruples; or that those who have those scruples, may tell how the land may be made secure without them. You shall advise me of everything and of the account given to you by the commander and officers of the said galleys, as to their condition, adequacy, and services.
Upon your arrival at those islands, and when you shall have taken charge of your office, you shall investigate the new method and conditions by which new invasions and pacifications may be lawfully made; also the smallness of the number of men, the slight cost, and the great ease and advantage with which they should be made, because of the division of the country into many islands and among many petty rulers, who easily come to blows among themselves, and ally themselves with the Spaniards, and hence can be preserved with but few soldiers. Since the petition in regard to the pay and number of the soldiers there was conceded—and you must keep the soldiers in good discipline, and satisfied and well-paid—you shall make the said expeditions of entry and pacification with great forethought and justification. You shall observe the ordinances in the instructions for new discoveries, which shall be given Page 232you, and shall not transgress them one jot or tittle in regard both to what is pacified during your term, and to conserving that, as well as what shall have been pacified before; for in both cases you must do this without any sort of violence or ill treatment, but with the kind treatment by which friends must be preserved. Thus if there has been any excess in this—which has been done contrary to my will and orders—it must entirely cease in whatever shall be done during your term. By this I lighten my conscience and charge yours.
The great need for the said pacification in the said islands has been reported, especially in those very districts where the Spaniards live, and which they frequent. These districts are all in rebellion and unsubdued, because of the lack of soldiers. Report has been made also of the injuries and vexations caused by the soldiers there to the natives. And inasmuch as things are come to such a pass there, according to report, that the island of Lucon has many provinces which have never been subdued, or if subdued, are in rebellion—as for instance, Cagayan, Panga[sinan?], Onçian, Çambales, Valenses, and others, all in the midst of the pacified provinces, and near and contiguous to Manila, and all in confusion and lack of any regulation—as soon as you reach the said islands, with the advice and opinion of the Audiencia, you shall ordain what is most advisable in this matter. You shall begin, as may be reasonable and most desirable, by attending to the general improvement of these conditions, and with especial care and assistance; for evil might come upon the distant places, if the part at your very doors is left under suspicion and unsubdued. Besides there is the obligation to try to Page 233secure the continuation of the instruction of so many people as are already converted, and under my royal protection. Because these do not have the peace and tranquillity required, they suffer great hardships and wrongs from those who are in rebellion and unpacified. Daily the latter harass, kill, and assault them, and burn their crops. On this account, and because they kill many Spaniards also, not only is there no advance made in conquests, but that portion conquered is being daily diminished. In order to reform this state of affairs, you shall give commands, in accordance with what has been said above, with great consideration and justification. You shall always observe, as aforesaid, the ordinances set forth in the instructions for discoveries, pacifications, and the introduction of the gospel, without violating them in any point.
Beside the said provinces that are in rebellion in places, among the Spaniards and Indians already converted, there are others, which although they do not lie so near, yet, in respect to their distances and the nature of their inhabitants, cannot be termed new discoveries, as they are already known and considered—as, for instance, Babuyanes, the island of Hermosa, the island of Caballos, Lequios, the islands of Ancion, Jabas, Burney, Pacaguan, Calanyanes, Mindanao, Sido, Maluco, and many others. Since, as it is reported, the condition of these provinces is daily becoming worse, and it is advised that it would be necessary to pacify them for the welfare and safety of the Spaniards, and that delay might make that task more difficult, you shall inform yourself as to how the said pacification and conquest can be best and most quickly made. You shall perform it with Page 234the advice and opinion of the Audiencia, in the form and manner most advisable. You shall always observe in everything the form above mentioned, and no other.
As I have thought it advisable that you, whom I trust so completely, should, with the advice and opinion of the Audiencia, have power and authority to make the said expeditions of entry and pacifications at the cost of my royal exchequer, in consideration of the fact that, if you in lands so remote were compelled to await a reply from here, important opportunities and occasions might be lost, I have resolved to empower you for this purpose. Accordingly I give you this power, and I order the officials of my royal exchequer of the said islands to honor all your orders on them for the said purpose, from the moneys in their power. But you are to take note that you shall exercise the said power only in the most important matters that arise. You shall beforehand communicate regarding these, not only with the Audiencia, as above stated, but also with ecclesiastical or secular persons, or such of them as you shall deem suitable and of greatest merit and experience, in order that whatever is done be concurred in by all and the expense be no greater than what is unavoidable. You shall endeavor to make as safe as possible the regions pacified and subdued. You shall advise me, with the minuteness and circumspectness required by the importance of this matter and my desire for its execution, of what you do, of what is pacified, the means that you employ, and the condition in which it shall be placed and left.
In order that this may be done better and at the least expense, I authorize you, after having resolved Page 235upon the expeditions of entry and the new pacifications that it is advisable to make, in the form above mentioned, to covenant and agree with captains, encomenderos, and any others, in regard to the said expeditions of entry and pacifications. They shall make them wholly or partly at their own cost, as you may deem more advisable. These men shall be given title as governors of the islands or provinces that they discover or pacify, and for a limited time as captains and masters-of-camp. However, you shall not grant them title as adelantados or mariscals; but, when anyone claims such a title, you shall refer the matter to me, with a relation of the services, character, and merits of the claimant. The said contracts and covenants that you shall make, may, with the concurrence and advice of the Audiencia, remain in force until I approve them, in order to gain time, but on the condition of referring everything to me. For this, in conformity with it, you shall bind the parties to produce the said confirmations within a certain brief period fixed by yourself. They shall bind themselves to observe in their pacifications the said orders and instructions given by me for making the said pacifications and new discoveries, and, after they are made, for conserving them; for in this matter you must make no exemptions, nor shall I make any in any case, nor shall any contract be kept with those who do not observe and keep the above.