Events which took place in Abucay and Samal, province of Pampanga
On Saturday, the twenty-second, at daybreak, the enemy appeared close in shore off Abucay, the principal village in the province of Pampanga. This village has a very costly substantial church and convent, built of stone, in sight of the sea, belonging to the fathers of St. Dominic. His Lordship the governor and captain-general, being informed of this, and foreseeing the damage which might result if the enemy should land there, ordered the alcalde-mayor of the province to fortify the church and thwart the designs of the enemy, with the assistance of the resident Spaniards and natives of Pampanga, who had proved their bravery so well on all occasions. He also sent an adjutant and other men from this city to aid them, and directed that the money, which had been removed from a champan belonging to Chinese traders and placed in the church to prevent it from falling in the hands of the enemy, should be put in a safe place or be forwarded to this city.
Although the alcalde-mayor[2] had come to these islands as a captain of infantry, he could not have been so good a soldier as he was a trader, nor so brave in spirit as great in stature. He replied that the place was better fortified than La Rochelle, and that if the heretics landed there none would be left to carry the tidings back to the vessels. He left that place on Friday, the twenty-first, leaving there one hundred and fifty Pampango soldiers and five Spaniards, all in command of Don Pedro Gamboa, a retired master-of-camp of the Pampanga nation. The following day, Saturday, the six Dutch ships came in sight off Abucay, with as many more lanchas, and sent ashore an officer with as many as one hundred and thirty men. They entered the village boldly, by the bridge from the landing-place, and, firing their guns, approached the gates of the church and convent; but they were repulsed by our men so successfully that they took to flight. They left in the court three men dead, with some firearms; and they retreated so hastily that they jumped into the water with their clothes and shoes on. At the same time when this was occurring in Abucay, they also attacked Samal, the second village of the same province, with three other lanchas, but with no better fortune; for, when they reached the village, hardly had they set fire to the huts in the outskirts when they were repulsed, with the same courage as at Abucay. As soon as the enemy had gone, the master-of-camp destroyed the bridge across a small river, over which it is necessary to cross from the beach to the convent. He then sent a despatch to the alcalde-mayor of the province telling what had occurred, and that it was presumed that the pirates would return to the attack with a larger force. The alcalde-mayor was in another village, collecting soldiers to send to the relief of Manila; but he reached Abucay that very night, with the recruits whom he already had and some whom he had secured from other places. He held a consultation with the Pampango commanders as to the measures to be taken in case the enemy should return. All were of opinion that the convent should be fortified, and a sufficient number of men stationed therein to defend it, and that the body of the troops should await the Dutch in the field; and that at the landing, at the ford of the stream, and in other places suitable for ambuscades, they should inflict all the damage possible on the enemy. But the alcalde thought that they should avoid shutting up themselves in the convent so that they might be able to flee to the woods if pressed by the enemy; accordingly, he did not submit to their opinion, and the only defense that he made was to lock the gates of the buildings.
The Dutch commander piqued at the retreat, and the loss of his men, and, it is supposed, having received information through a negro and some Sangley fishermen that the money belonging to the traders of the Chinese vessel which had escaped him, was concealed in the said church, would not entrust the exploit [of seizing the money] to any one but himself. On the following day, Sunday, he appeared at dawn on the beach, with all of his lanchas and in view of all our men who were inside the convent; and landed with as many as four hundred men, and two pieces of field artillery, displaying seven ensigns. Without meeting any opposition they marched, in order, to the stream and the little bridge which had been destroyed by the Pampangos. The water was deep; so, seizing some small boats belonging to the natives, which they easily found, they coolly transported their men and guns. Our Pampangos were burning to go forth to attack them, and were so impatient that, had they not been restrained by their innate loyalty, they would have turned against the alcalde.
After crossing the river, the general marched his troop in regular files until he came near the court [patio] of the church, which was of stone, and very suitable for defensive and even offensive warfare. Here he halted; but quickly observing how feeble was its defense, he entered the court, halted in front of the main entrance of the church, and fired his artillery against it. But as his guns were small, and the gates very strong, he could accomplish no more than to splinter off a piece, making a hole through which one could hardly thrust a hand. Meanwhile, there were volleys on both sides from the muskets and arquebuses. The alcalde remained in the highest part of the convent; a Pampango fell dead near him, and when he saw the latter’s blood, his own immediately ran cold. When he was told that the powder would soon give out—which was quite true, for he had not brought for this occasion all that had been sent from Manila—he left his post, under pretext of going to consult two religious of that convent (who were in retreat in the farthest cell, praying to God for our success), and never returned to see what was going on; but he discussed with the religious the desirability of displaying a flag of truce, in order to negotiate [with the enemy] for saving our lives.
Among those in the convent were the principal men of all Pampanga, many of them veteran soldiers of long experience in Terrenate. They told the alcalde that our forces were superior in number to those of the enemy; that on various occasions they had shown themselves equal to the foe, and did not acknowledge him as their superior on land; and that when their ammunition and weapons were exhausted they would hurl themselves against him tooth and nail, and die like good soldiers, fighting in the service of God and the king. They declared that they would not consider a flag of peace, which would serve to encourage the enemy and deliver them all into his hands.
The religious (who could have prevented what was done) supported the opinion of the alcalde, and even tried to use their authority as ministers to compel the Pampangos to agree with it; and, in spite of the objections made by the Indians, they finally hung out a peace-flag from one of the windows. The Dutch general was greatly delighted, and promised favorable terms. One of the religious, accompanied by the Spanish adjutant who was there, descended, and conversed for a long time with the general. While this parley was going on, the Dutchmen did not cease to try the other doors and windows of the convent, in order to effect an entrance; nor did the Pampangos discontinue their resistance, wounding and killing many of the enemy. The general, irritated at this, and noticing that one of his men had scaled the convent wall by means of a workmen’s scaffolding, and entering, had rung the bells as a signal of victory, said that this was no time for treating of peace; and seizing in the crowd the negotiators as prisoners, he commanded a renewal of hostilities, and ordered his men to enter the church and convent on all sides. The bravest and most prominent Pampangos defended themselves gallantly, refusing to hear any talk of surrender to a heretical prince, although the Dutch promised to spare their lives if they would do so. But as their weapons were inferior [to the enemy’s] and their powder had been exhausted, the Pampangos were finally defeated; nearly two hundred were barbarously put to death, and forty others together with the alcalde and the other religious[3] who was in the convent, were taken prisoners.
To make matters worse for us and fortunate for the heretics, there was not lacking an informer, who disclosed to the enemy the silver from the Sangley ship, which had been hidden in a deep hole; the Dutch carried it away, to the amount of twenty thousand pesos. They burned the convent, and the woodwork of the church, but the fire did not extend to the altar; and they retreated to their lanchas on the same day, without sacking the village.
At the same time, another but smaller body of their troops attacked the village of Samal; but the Pampangos who were in garrison there, under command of Sargento-mayor Don Alexo Aguas, went out against them and compelled them to retreat, as those in Abucay would have done if the religious and the alcalde had allowed them to fight.