I am duly grateful that your Majesty ordered the letters which I wrote from here in the years 28 and 29 to be examined in that your Council of War of the Yndias. Your Majesty has answered them, and has done me honor in accordance with your usual custom toward those who serve you. And thus with new courage I pray God that He may give me life and better health in order to serve you. I have for a year back been in so poor health, by reason of great exhaustion and weakness, that I greatly fear that I shall not be able to leave this place. If I shall not do that, I shall have fulfilled my duty by giving my life in the service of your Majesty. Your Majesty knows that I am not fit for the burden of government since the death of Doña Magdalena, who is in heaven. Everything has been hardship for me; and I have become so exhausted that I can scarce rise from my bed, and I have been very near my end twice or thrice. May God fulfil His will, and may your Majesty be pleased to give orders that I be relieved, if you wish affairs to be safe here; for surely the country will be very quickly in the power of the auditors, if some person does not come from there who will not let it be lost. If God give me life, I shall be contented even with retiring to the post with which your Majesty has favored me, as your commissary of war. Notwithstanding that I assure your Majesty as your faithful vassal, and as a person who would prefer to lose a thousand lives than to utter one falsehood to his king, that the Filipinas have been worth nothing to me, during the six years of my residence herein; but rather I have lost the twenty thousand pesos which I have spent from the dowry that Doña Magdalena brought me. And had not our Lord been pleased to give me a son (at whose birth she died), she would not have had enough whereby to have returned safely home to her parents. I confess that it must seem to politicians that one does not come so far not to gain a bit of bread; but it is certain that if one is to serve your Majesty to the letter, and live as a Christian, it is difficult to acquire much property. I arrived at these islands very deeply pledged, for the expenses of the Indias are heavy. I brought many men, so that they might serve your Majesty here. I have carried myself in accordance with the honor which your Majesty bestowed upon me; and, consequently, I have not been able to save enough from my salary to pay the expenses of the return (if God grants me life). I am anxious; for it is not right to spend the possessions of this child. If some accommodation, in some of the ways that my agents will represent there, were to be allowed me for this purpose, I would appreciate it; for that would enable me to take from here something with which to serve your Majesty in Europa.
I wrote about affairs pertaining to Japon last year, by way of India. In this despatch I enclose a copy of it in the first mail. May God bear it in safety; for, judging by what the fleets of the Northern Sea encounter, we are always in fear. This year those of Japon have come with their ships; and the governor of Nangasaqui says in answer to my letters that the trade may be considered as open, and that the ships from both sides may go and come, and that they will be well received. In regard to the passport [chapa] of the emperor, which is the license that they usually give for trade with their kingdoms, he says that he will arrange that. They send one hundred and thirty lepers in these ships, who were exiled for the faith. We believe, through the assurance that we have of the bad disposition of that race, that this action has been a sort of vengeance or contempt; but it is quite certain that, although they may have done it for that purpose, it has resulted very well for us; for we have exercised an act of charity, which I hope, God helping, will confound them. For we received the lepers with great pomp and display of charity; and this city, aided by the religious orders, is striving to collect liberal alms for them. Those ships have brought a quantity of bronze for the founding of artillery, besides an abundance of flour. Since they are doing this, and we are not for the present going there securely, the matter is to be considered as more evil-intentioned than they may regard it. I shall endeavor, as heretofore, to promote peace and cordial intercourse, and that they may obtain all satisfaction for the affair in Sian. If they come to ask for it rightly, satisfaction will be given them, and the guilt of the commander who had charge of the galleons will be settled.
The viceroy of Nueva España asks me to cast him some artillery, of the calibers ordered, and it will be sent him promptly.
I wrote your Majesty, in the year that Don Geronimo de Silva died here, how superfluous was the post of general of artillery; for he does not take the field, nor is there any artillery train [to be transported], or more than a few artillerymen scattered through the ordinary presidios. For as many as there are, it would be sufficient to have one captain of artillery; for it requires nothing else than to order a ship to be equipped, and that is done with the order of the captain-general; and with greater ease and less red-tape, orders can be given to the captain of artillery, who is the one who has to execute it, than to a general of artillery, who has to order another to do it. Juan Bautista de Molina has served your Majesty many years, but the Filipinas do not need so many heads, nor so many to draw pay from its treasury. I, Sire, shall not appoint anyone to the post (although it is vacant), as your Majesty orders me, for I do not desire to do a thing in which I believe that I would be doing you a disservice; and since your Majesty orders me to abolish other posts, I do not believe that it will be disservice to add this post to them. In the meantime, will your Majesty please inform us whether the master-of-camp of these islands or the general of artillery is to govern at the death of the governor and captain-general, or during his absence. Certain it is that he who has more authority and power is the master-of-camp, and he ought to be second in command. For there is not any general master-of-camp here, nor is it necessary; nor is there more than one regiment that he governs. Juan Bautista de Molina is exercising his charge in accordance with your Majesty’s letters-patent, which will be observed to the letter.
I wrote, with the ship that sailed to India, the good news that was had from the island of Hermosa. We have not received later news. The disobedient Indians have been punished, and affairs have been better regulated. May God in His mercy bring them to a knowledge of His holy faith. I am sending two ships there, so that more abundant relief may be sent to our men. They will bring back the general, Don Juan de Alcaraso, who is there. The sargento-mayor will remain in his place until another person is sent, as he is a person of trust and worth.
The province of Cagayan is more quiet than before. A company there was abolished, for the war has ceased; and hopes are daily entertained that more peaceful Indians will come down [from the hills].
The inhabitants of Caraga revolted, as I stated in my last despatch, after killing the captain and commander, with twenty soldiers, in an expedition that he made. Thinking that they could gain the fort with that force, they came to it, but it did not fall out as they imagined. The greater part of the province rose, and killed four discalced Recollect religious. A severe punishment was inflicted on them in the month of September; and recently, in the month of May just passed, another fleet went there to punish and to reduce them. I trust, our Lord helping, that they will remain quiet, although they are not Christians; for there is little confidence to be placed in them.
The four pataches which were sent to Terrenate arrived there safely; and the enemy were unable to overtake them, although they came with hopes of doing much more here than usual, and searched for the ships from dawn until four o’clock in the afternoon. Pedro de Heredia is somewhat disconsolate at seeing that your Majesty does not withdraw him. He sent no news of importance, except that the enemy is not so powerful as formerly. During the coming year I intend to send a greater reënforcement than usual, in order to see whether we can capture the enemy’s ship which prowls thereabout. There will be considerable opposition, and there are very few men for what is necessary, but I shall do what is possible.
Nueva España aids me with very little money; for this year not more than two hundred and thirty-four thousand pesos has come for the expenses of the treasury, and during all the past years aid came in almost the same way. The viceroy thinks that he is doing his duty in not sending more. I would like him to have charge of affairs here, to see whether he could maintain armed fleets, infantry, friars, ministers of justice, the extraordinary expenses of presidios, and many other expenses—which will be seen there from the reports which your Majesty asked, and which are sent this year—with so little cloth. He also sent me only ninety soldiers as a reënforcement, for whom, I am assured, twenty warrants were given. The best of all is that I am told very positively that the levy will begin very early, just as if that had the tune that was to attract many men. If the captains who raise the men were the ones who had to bring them, they would make men. But as they are not the ones to bring them, and as the matter is reduced to three companies who have to come here, and the captains of these come to obtain the men on the wing—that is, on the road or at the very port of Acapulco—they find that already the men have deserted to the other captains. Many of them die here, and there is but a low birth rate in this country. Thus the garrisons at Terrenate and the other presidios lack men, although the visitor thinks it all too much. I am not surprised at that, for his desire is the same as mine, namely, to cut short your Majesty’s expenses. But it is certain that some economies come to be wasteful. He told me that I should reduce the soldiery in these islands to the number that was established by Gomez Perez Dasmariñas. As he does not know what it means to have Dutch enemies about us, he thinks that we could get along with fewer men [than we have here]. I find, Sire, that your Majesty does not have another military establishment more important in the Yndias than the Filipinas Islands. And, that it may be evident whether I make a wrong assertion, consider what part of the Yndias the enemy have made their own—except Xava, where they hold Xacatra, three hundred leguas from here. There they have their principal fort, and have their ammunition and magazines. Here, Sire, here, is where your Majesty, joining Malaca and Macan to this government, must maintain your forces and oppose them to those of the enemy. If that is not done, there is but little to hope from these Yndias, which will be ruined in a short time; or, at the least, will incur so many expenses that they will be of no use. May God take me to that court, where I hope to make the affairs of these regions understood as they are, and not as people imagine there. Neither heavy expenses nor large fleets are necessary for this. The continual plying of four galleons and two pataches, and four galleons in the strait of Malaca, will keep the enemy so hemmed in that they will make no captures or have any trade; and they would have to go in company and armed, and thus incur expenses. Castilla has no trading company for the expenses of war. Without prizes or trade they would be able to inflict the first injury on the Dutch; for the strait of Malaca, which is the place where the Dutch conduct the greater part of their trade, would be secure with the galleys, for there are no winds there, as a rule. The tide allows the ships to enter and leave by three straits, the broadest of which is very narrow, for only one ship can tack in it. That strait is not the one generally used, but the other two. I am assured that in both the ends of the yards of the galleons brush through the trees ashore. I wrote in regard to this matter, in the year of 30, by Admiral Diego Lopez Lobo, whom I was sending to that court to treat of that matter alone; but God was pleased to let him drown in the flagship of the trading-fleet which was lost in the past year of 31. I wish that at least one of the three mails which I have always despatched since my arrival at these islands had reached you. On my part I have not failed to advise you of everything, nor shall I fail to desire and to propose what shall seem best to me for the increase of the service of your Majesty.
It will not be difficult to unite these camps under one head, even though they are of two crowns. If they do not unite of themselves, they will have no strength. Portugal and Castilla belong to your Majesty, and that is a reason why their arms should be united; for the forces of Francia, Olanda, Ynglaterra, and Dinamarca[2] are united in these districts. If those of your Majesty were combined, not only would we defend what has been gained, but we would steadily extend farther. Your Majesty sees them united against you, although they are of so many different sovereigns, religions, and nationalities. Then why do not Portugal and Castilla unite in this South Sea and the coasts of Asia, where the enemy acquires so much wealth? I do not attempt this so that I may remain here longer, nor so that everything may be placed in my charge; for I have no health, nor is it just to exile me so many years in regions so remote. I express my feelings, and I desire to express them more in detail in that Council, as experience has shown things to me.