You mention the revolt and retreat to the hills of certain natives of the provinces of Pintados, Nueva Segovia, and Cambales, and the reason which you think they had for it. I appreciate the care which you have exercised in that matter, since on other occasions when you have been directed to see that the Indians be treated as well as possible, you have endeavored to have my orders carried out, for in this way they will be preserved as we desire. Again I charge you that you inform the superiors of the convents, and religious who are busied in the conversion and teaching of the Indians, how important it is to treat them well.
Since you were unable to attend to the mines of the province of Pangasinan, in the mountains and the lands of the Ygolotes, on account of the press of business which you have had, you will now carry on their exploration, since you see that it is desirable to accomplish this enterprise.[1] As for the efforts that you have made to discover certain fruits of the land, and your assertion that a considerable quantity of nutmeg[2] has been discovered similar to that from the Malucas Islands, you will make the necessary investigations to ascertain this accurately. I also charge you to continue what you have begun, and to send a quantity of the said nutmeg to the officers of my royal exchequer in the City of Mexico in Nueva España, so that they may send it to these kingdoms; and there also shall the investigation be made, according to the orders sent in my decree.
As regards your remarks concerning the Licentiate Geronimo de Legaspi, auditor of that Audiencia, you will execute your orders in the matter, and I shall await the result. What you write in response to my decree, which was sent you on June 8, 1621, that you should investigate the mode of life of the wives of the auditors and other officials therein mentioned, is noted; and all this is placed in your charge and on your conscience. You are to correct the abuses which you find existing, no matter whom they concern, and shall read this section in the Audiencia, so that they may know my will.
I am advised of what you say, and have often represented, as to the necessity that the persons who are appointed to that Audiencia shall be well-known and approved. I am also advised as to what you say of the person of Don Geronimo de Silva, and the assistance which you have had from him. The embassy for Japan—with a gift, which shall not seem an acknowledgment—you say, could not be sent off last year, which is well. In the future, you will execute your orders in this matter.
All the other sections which your letter contains have been considered, and now nothing remains but to make suitable provisions regarding them. [Madrid, October 9, 1623.]
I The King
By order of the king, our lord:
Juan Ruiz de Contreras
[1] Regarding this, Fajardo wrote thus to the king, on August 17, 1623 (a letter found in the Sevilla archives): “The expedition to take possession of the gold mines of the Ygolotes, which border on peaceful lands of this island, has been accomplished, although it has entailed some expense, not a little labor, and some bloodshed; for those barbarians are so indomitable, and occupy fortifications, in which are Spaniards and Indians belonging to the peaceful vassals of your Majesty. The indications of the mines, the disposition of the ridges, and the quality of the earth where they were, promise more richness than do the trials which have been made thus far by washing and separating the gold. Until all the tests which are used for this purpose have been made, it can not be certainly said what their value, will be—although it appears to me that that cannot be small, considering the large amount of gold which these natives take from the mines and barter with the friendly Indians. Even if the profit is not large enough to make it expedient to administer it on your Majesty’s account, in pacifying and reducing to obedience these Ygolotes Indians there will be no little advantage, besides the taxes, from reducing them to the vassalage of your Majesty, and to instruction in our holy Catholic faith, which they have never received.”
[2] “The nutmeg [Myristica fragrans] grows naturally in Cebu and in Laguna province, and will grow in all parts of the islands cultivated” (Report of U.S. Philippine Commission, 1900, iii, p. 271).