The jurisdiction of your Majesty in this kingdom is so hampered by that of the ecclesiastics that on no occasion can we have our own way. As there is no one to withstand them much damage is experienced; and we see ourselves in great troubles and hardships, tied hand and foot, because the ecclesiastics and religious interfere in everything. They rebel against and hinder the accomplishment of your Majesty's commands; and even among themselves they have many dissensions and disagreements. It is a pitiable state of Page 257affairs, and even if it were for no other purpose than to moderate these excesses and licenses of powerful persons, it would be best to have here the royal Audiencia, which your Majesty ordered to be suppressed. I beseech your Majesty, as I likewise urged from Nueva Spaña, in the report which your Majesty already has, that in case the royal Audiencia is not reëstablished, a remedy be provided. There should be someone to oppose the ecclesiastics in a land so far away from the Audiencia of Mexico; for, no matter what question is sent there for decision, at least two years must elapse before despatches can be returned.
The bishop is very much missed in this land by all the ecclesiastics; and it would be very beneficial for the future if he should come this year with the arms sent from Nueva Spaña. May God bring them, although they are already late in arriving. If they should fail to come, great need would be felt everywhere. All these islands are now pacified, and the only need is for ministers of the gospel, on account of the many heathen who are without instruction. Many of the Spaniards who people the land and come here for its defense, die here. Thus we are in need, as I have said.
The college[1] founded by the fathers of the Society for the education of Spaniards in this city, at the expense of your Majesty's exchequer, is now closed, by the new contract which was made with Captain Estevan Rodriguez de Figueroa regarding the patronage which was given him from this house and Page 258college. According to the wish of your Majesty, this work was changed into a college for natives which they wished to found. The same income of one thousand pesos a year has been assigned them, in addition to the fourth of the tribute paid where there is no instruction, and other sums from similar sources. I think it would be well to further this work; for besides the receiving of a good education by the sons of natives, which would strengthen them greatly in the things of the Christian religion and right living, it would be a hidden blessing to have the sons of the principal natives in this college, for our safety is thereby assured on any occasion whatever. The papers in this matter are sent, in order that your Majesty may have provision made according to your pleasure.
At the beginning of this year, a galleon arrived at these islands from Piru, and later a small fragata in its convoy, wherein it appears that Adelantado Alvaro de Mendaña had set out from Piru in April of last year to discover the western islands in the Southern Sea. This he did not succeed in doing, and lost his flagship and afterward another fragata. He formed a settlement on another island near Nueva Guinea, where the men quarreled among themselves, and the said adelantado died with many of his people.[2] His wife inherited that settlement, and arrived at these islands in great need and after many hardships, where she married Don Fernando de Castro, cousin of the governor, and returned to Piru with her Page 259ship. I am sending your Majesty the report of the matter which has been received, and an account of their voyage and adventures, which are therein stated at greater length.
After such long voyages I am left in very poor health, and with little hope of recovery, on account of the climate of this country. I am very poor and spent, with fewer children than those I brought with me, for they have died on the way. Therefore I strongly desire that your Majesty grant me grace if it be possible, and permit me to go to España, and be pleased to provide for this garrison. With this I should feel well paid and satisfied after all my hardships and wanderings. Even though I do not deserve the rewards of my predecessors, I shall live content in returning to my home and fireside, God willing, to give your Majesty a true account of the many things I have seen, and of what would be best for the better service of your Majesty. I humbly beseech your Majesty to grant me this favor as soon as possible. May our Lord preserve for many years the royal person of your Majesty, as is necessary to Christendom and your Majesty's servants. Manila, July 6, 1596.
[1] Figueroa, “before leaving Iloilo, made his will, endowing the Jesuit college at Manila with two thousand pesos of income; and directed that in case his daughters should die their inheritance should pass to that college of San José” (Montero y Vidal's Piratería en Mindanao, i, p. 140).
[2] See Discovery of the Solomon Islands (Hakluyt Soc. publications, 2d series, nos. 7, 8; London, 1901); this contains Mendaña's and other narratives of his expeditions in the southern Pacific Ocean.