[1] A letter from the king to Governor Tavora, dated November 21, 1625, refers to the latter the question of further attempts to work the Igorrote gold-mines. Reference is made therein to the report of Alonso Martin Quirante on these mines; and the cost or his expedition thither is stated as forty thousand pesos.
[2] Ley xxix, lib. viii, tit. xxi, of Recopilación de leyes, relating to the sale of offices in the Philippines, is as follows:
“We order that all offices be sold in the Filipinas Islands, which are regulated and ordained in accordance with the laws of this titulo, as in the other parts of the Indias, observing the laws in regard to sales, and the condition of securing a confirmation—provided that, if any persons shall hold any of those offices comprehended in those islands, as a concession which shall have been made to them for life by us, or by the governors of those islands in our name, these must be sold, and shall be sold, as if they were rendered vacant by the death [of the incumbents]. They cannot resign them, for it is our will that they shall not enjoy that privilege, as they could have done had they bought those offices.” [Felipe III, Madrid, November 29, 1616; December 19, 1618.]
Documents of 1626
- [Letter from the archbishop to Felipe IV]. Miguel Garcia Serrano; July 25.
- [Letter to Felipe IV]. Fernando de Silva; July 30.
- [Letter from the sisters of St. Clare to Felipe IV]. Jeronima de la Asunsion, and others; July 31.
- [Petition for aid to the seminary of San Juan Letran]. Juan Geronimo de Guerrero; August 1.
- [Royal decrees]. Felipe IV; June–October.
- [Military affairs of the islands]. [Unsigned]; 1626.
Sources: Most of these documents are obtained from MSS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla. The last two of the “Royal decrees” are from MSS. in the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid; and the sixth document is from a rare pamphlet in the British Museum, London.
Translations: These are all made by James A. Robertson, except the second, by Robert W. Haight.