Miguel Sanchez Marrufo
[The archbishop, Hernando Guerrero, wrote the following letter in regard to the matter:]
Sire:
By a decree of July ten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five, your Majesty orders me to inform you on the first opportunity, and to send my opinion, in regard to an alms of ten thousand ducados in unassigned Indians which is asked for in behalf of the residence of the Society of Jesus in this city of Manila, for the work on the said residence and church, in addition to another of like sum which your Majesty was pleased to grant it in June, one thousand six hundred and twenty-five, for the same purpose. Having made the investigations in fulfilment of the mandate of your Majesty, I find that the first ten thousand ducados have been consumed in the said work, as well as another large sum which citizens of this city have given as alms and loans. Although the principal part of the building is finished, it is in danger because the fourth arch is wanting, which will join together what has been built. This ten thousand additional ducados which is now petitioned will be very necessary; and although the said residence has some revenues, I am informed that these do not cover the expense of their ordinary support, because it is the seminary for study, the infirmary, and the hospitium of all the province. Consequently, I opine that it will be a work very proper for the royal kindness of your Majesty, and for the service of the Divine Majesty, to grant the residence the alms of the said sum—or greater, if your Majesty be so pleased. Its being in unassigned Indians, with which grant the soldiers are rewarded, is not a [mere] favor to the said fathers, since they embark with the soldiers on all the occasions demanding a fleet, and are employed in the rearing of the youth of this community, and all their ministers are engaged in the service of the community, gaining much fruit, and signalizing themselves among the other orders. With them and with me the said fathers are now in excellent harmony, and are the instrument of the peace between the tribunals, of which I am giving your Majesty a special account, so that you might have in your royal Council an account of the dissensions which, as I advised you, we had last year. May our Lord preserve the Catholic and royal person of your Majesty as He can, and as is necessary to Christendom. Manila, August six, one thousand six hundred and thirty-seven.
Fray Hernando, archbishop of Manila.
Letters from Corcuera to Felipe IV
Sire:
When your Majesty, through your grace and condescension, sent me to serve you in these Filipinas Islands, you were pleased to give me your commands in one of your royal decrees, dated at Madrid, on the sixteenth of February in the past year, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five—issued on account of the information which you had from this royal Audiencia of the losses which these islands have suffered, during the past thirty years and more, from Cachil Corralat, king of the great island of Mindanao, from the kings of Jolo and Burney, and from the Camucones. They have plundered the islands, and taken captive the poor Christian Indians, selling them as their slaves from one country to another, seizing the religious and the ministers of the holy gospel, burning the villages, and devastating everything. The royal Audiencia has given your Majesty but scant information of the great and excessive injuries which these poor islands have experienced from these Moro enemies. For in the year when I arrived here, they did not content themselves with taking captive more than twenty-five or thirty thousand vassals of your Majesty; at this time which I mention they seized and carried away captive from the island of Calamianes Don Diego de Alabez, your Majesty’s alcalde-mayor in that island and province, together with three religious, Recollects of the Order of St. Augustine, who in various places were furnishing instruction to the vassals of your Majesty. At the same time when they made this notable seizure, they sacked the churches, and afterward burned them, carrying away the monstrances with the most holy sacrament, the chalices, and other sacred vessels, with all the ornaments that they could find—even taking the bells. All together, this booty was worth more than two or three thousand pesos—which for churches so poor, and for poor Indians, was a considerable loss.
Having made inquiries as to what measures had been taken by my predecessors in so many years to check such lawless acts, I was assured by this royal Audiencia, and by all the oldest and most experienced residents of this colony, that in the past thirty-four years there had been expended from your Majesty’s royal exchequer more than two hundred thousand pesos, in equipping fleets in Cebu, Oton, this city, and other places, against these enemies. But these fleets were never able to come up with the pirates because of the swiftness of the Moro vessels, and because of the negligence of the commanders who were sent on these expeditions; consequently, all that was accomplished was to go to the islands where these enemies had been, and to live on the tender chickens and other supplies which the poor Indians had carried away to the hills. All these things, and the commands that your Majesty was pleased to lay upon me in your royal decree above mentioned, constrained me to summon a council of war. It included all the old soldiers who are in this city, not only those in active service, but those on half-pay; also the royal Audiencia, and the royal officials of your Majesty. I told them how important it was to put an end to these raids, as your Majesty had commanded, and proposed to go in person to punish these Moros. All the members of the council uttered opinions contrary to mine, deeming it to be of greater importance that I should remain in this city. Only one thought that I should go to render this service, and that was my nephew, Captain and Sargento-mayor Don Pedro Hurtado de Corcuera; and some one among them said that your Majesty’s power was not sufficient to conquer the height of Mindanao, where the king Cachil Corralat was.