They intend, also, to seize or to obstruct the champans from China which may go to trade at Manila; and to avail themselves secretly of the Sangleys to cause a diversion [of the Spanish forces] in Manila at the time when the Dutch shall attack it. All this was fully explained to me by a religious person who was in Jacatra, and was on very intimate terms with some of the Dutchmen, as he understood their language and customs. The expedition against Manila would be, as they thought, in May or in October of the year 1644; and, if at the latter time, it would go by way of Tay-quan.

Among the injuries which they will meanwhile try to inflict upon us, not the least will be an attempt to burn the galleons and our vessels that may be in Cavite, or in other places; or corrupting through clandestine spies whomsoever they can among our men, or effecting an entrance at night, and by stratagem—both of which they did at Goa. Recently they burned the galleons of the Portuguese, which lay within the port, at anchor, and with the usual guard. With this they tied the hands of the Portuguese, and rendered it impossible for them to sally out and resist the Dutch. There is no doubt that they will, if they have the opportunity, do much worse than what I have told; for this is an astute and cautious enemy, who knows whatever occurs among our people; and we live in anxieties. Dated in the kingdom of Macasar, in March, 1643.

Fray Juan de los Angeles
of the Order of St. Dominic.

[To this document we append the following additional information, obtained from Ferrando and Fonseca’s Historia de los PP. Dominicos en las Islas Filipinas (Madrid, 1870), ii, pp. 440–447:]

Governor Corcuera, who regarded with much indifference that goodly conquest,[8] failed to recognize its importance as an advanced and strategic point for checking the aggressions of the Dutch; and, engaged in making new conquests which he could not preserve, he had entirely abandoned it [i.e., Formosa]. A wretched company of invalids and raw recruits was the only force allotted for the defense of that island against a victorious enemy, who, flushed with the triumphs that they had obtained over the Portuguese possessions, believed (and with some reason) that everything must give way to their triumphal progress through these seas, [Their first attack on Tanchuy, in 1641, is “almost miraculously repulsed by its feeble garrison;” but in this expedition the Dutch learn the topography of that region, the condition of the Spanish forts, etc., and plan anew its conquest.] Their plans were not hidden from the commandant of the fort, nor from our good religious, who mingled their counsels with those of the men who were defending the cause of religion and native land. All quickly saw the urgent necessity of reënforcing the garrison, and of demanding fresh troops from the government at Manila.

With this honorable commission finally departed from Formosa, surrounded with a thousand perils, Father Juan de los Angeles, vicar and superior of the Dominican fathers who had in charge the spiritual administration of that island.... He gave to the governor an account of the recent conflict; explained with deep feeling the melancholy and precarious situation of the colony; and declared how certainly the honor of the Spanish flag in Formosa was greatly compromised unless effort was made as soon as possible to reënforce its garrison. This demand was received at the time with some appearance of interest, but it did not receive the prompt attention which the importance of the matter demanded. The preservation of Formosa did not interest Corcuera or his private counselors; but he was finally forced to save appearances to some extent, in order not to take upon himself, at all events, the scandalous responsibility of what must unavoidably occur in such an extreme case. He actually despatched the messenger, with a weak reënforcement, in a wretched hulk—which, without any provision for its safety or good condition, was miserably shipwrecked on the northern coast of Luzon, at the first attack of a slight storm. It was possible to save, nevertheless, the men and the outfit of the ship; and Father Angeles was able to fit out another and safer vessel, which carried them safely to Formosa, with the little aid sent from Manila. This consisted of some food and military supplies, eight Spanish soldiers, and the ship’s crew, undisciplined and unarmed, who could only serve as a hindrance, in any case.

[Tanchuy is taken from the Spaniards by the Dutch, as is related by Father Angeles; Ferrando adds:] Forty pieces of heavy artillery fell into their hands, with large quantities of gunpowder and military supplies, twenty-five thousand duros from the treasury, and a great deal of merchandise owned by private persons, which might amount to nearly a million in value. This was the first disgraceful victory which the Dutch could obtain over the Spanish arms in that great Oceania, [and that] because the island was neglected and abandoned by an unlucky governor—a victory that was a thousand times more unfortunate, since it inflated their arrogance to the extreme of believing themselves powerful enough to dispute with us at last the envied possession of the Filipinas Islands.

It was the province of the most holy Rosary which felt the deepest pain at this lamentable result; for besides [being compelled to] abandon their beloved flocks, they lost various churches and convents, with their precious images and sacred ornaments; the provisions destined for the missionaries at Fo-gan; three priests and two lay brethren, who were sent prisoners to Jacatra (now Nueva Batavia); and, finally, their hopes of seeing in the bosom of religion and of the Church all the inhabitants of that island, whose conversion to Christianity had already made considerable progress. [These converts, however, long retain the faith that they had received from the missionaries, and shun both heathen observances and the heresies of their Dutch conquerors.]

The Dutch, now masters of that Spanish island, celebrated during eight days the signal triumph of their arms, carrying away to the fort of Tay-quan all the Spanish soldiers and religious. From that place they transferred these prisoners to the capital of Java, now adding to their number the zealous Father Cháves,[9] who since the preceding year had remained a prisoner in their hands. They were not so ill received or treated in the Netherlandish colony as they would have feared. The governor of Java was a very generous man, and showed consideration and respect in every way to the Spanish prisoners—our religious securing the fullest liberty to exercise their apostolic labors, not only among the Catholics, but even among the infidels and sectaries of those foreign possessions. At last, all the difficulties were overcome which would naturally arise in the way of restoring them all to Manila without exchange or ransom, or compensation of any kind—thanks to the influence and great prestige which our excellent missionaries were able to acquire among even the enemies of the Catholic religion. Only the governor of Formosa remained among the Dutch, because he feared the results of the rigorous residencia which would be required from him in Manila for the loss of that island, and more especially of the fortress of Tanchuy—notwithstanding that his responsibility was freed from blame in the consciences of all; and the most skilful leader would have yielded, without fail, with the small and wretched garrison of that fort. He had done quite enough; and the responsibility, in any case, must be sought higher up....

The Spanish soldiers were greatly disturbed by the desertion of the governor of Formosa. Destitute of a chief and leader to govern them, and unable to agree on the nomination of another, they almost resolved to abandon the voyage; but the religious, to whom they owed their liberty, and whose opinion they still respected, gained their good-will anew, and induced them to consent to a reasonable agreement—which they accepted only on condition that father Fray Juan de los Angeles would accept the office of their leader, which they conferred upon him by acclamation. At the command and under the direction of the said father, they were immediately shipped to Macasar, where the ruler of the island sent them their rations on account, until an officer arrived from Manila with orders to pay all their just expenses, and to conduct them at last to the capital of Filipinas, where they arrived safe and sound on the twenty-ninth of June in 1643. Thus the province of the most holy Rosary obtained some consolation for that great misfortune, by receiving to its bosom four excellent religious whom it already regarded as lost to it.