Decade Seventh—Book First
Chapter I
Treats of the fifth intermediary chapter; and of some events in the province of Philipinas.
[The first section treats of the fifth intermediary chapter of the order, which was held at Madrid, May 27, 1651].
§ II
The convent of Tándag, in the province of Carágha of the Philipinas Islands, is demolished
232. Tándag is located in the island of Mindanáo, and is the capital of the district of the jurisdiction of Carágha, where the alcalde-mayor resides. In regard to ecclesiastical affairs, it belongs to the bishopric of Zibú. Our convent which is found in that settlement has charge of three thousand souls, scattered in the said capital and in five annexed villages called visitas. How much glory that convent has gained for God may be inferred from the repeated triumphs which its most zealous ministers obtained, thanks to His grace; and the words of our most reverend and illustrious Don Fray Pedro de San-Tiago, bishop of Solsona and Lerida, in the relation of the voyage made by our discalced religious to the Indias are sufficient. “There was,” he says, “a powerful Indian, called Inúc, the lord of Marieta, who, waging war on the Spaniards and peaceable Indians, killed many of them in various engagements while he captured more than two thousand. The very reverend father Fray Juan de la Madre de Dios left Tándag, without other army or arms than his virtues. He went to meet Inúc and, by the force of the divine word, he alone conquered Inúc, who was accompanied by squadrons; the religious conquered the soldier, the lamb the lion, and forced him to lay aside his arms and reduce himself to the obedience of the king our sovereign, and to be baptized with all his family.” Thus did he give in that one action, peace to the country, a multitude of souls to heaven, and an exceeding great number of vassals to the Spanish monarch.
233. The seasons continued to pass interwoven with various incidents, now prosperous, now adverse; although as the world is a vale of tears, it gave its pleasures with a close hand and its sorrows with prodigal liberality—especially in the years 46 and 47 when the Dutch, having become the ruler of the seas, forced or compelled all vessels to take refuge in the ports. The commerce of the Sangleys or Chinese fell off almost entirely; and according to the common opinion, the Dutch were so victorious that their invasions, painted with those rhetorical colors that fear is wont to give, filled all the islands with terror. Don Diego Faxardo, knight of the Habit of San-Tiago, was then governor and captain-general of Philipinas, and also president of that royal Audiencia. He was most vigilant in defending those wretched villages from the powerful invasions of the enemy, who, by the specious pretext that they were going to set them free, induced the chiefs to [join] a general conspiracy. Don Diego tried to ascertain the forces of the enemy with accuracy; he ordered the ports to be reconnoitered and the presidios to be fortified. He solicited truthful reports in order to obtain advice upon the best way to decide.
234. There was at that time an alcalde-mayor in the fortress of Tándag whose name is omitted for a special reason. The venerable father Fray Pedro de San Joseph Roxas, a religious of eminent qualities and excellent virtues, was prior of that convent. He, having concluded that the minister ought, as a teacher, to attend to the Indians in regard to instruction, and as a father, to watch over their protection, on seeing his parishioners persecuted with unjust vexations thought himself obliged to oppose the illegal acts of the alcalde. Father Fray Pedro saw the people of Tándag and its visitas oppressed with insupportable burdens. He saw them suffering so great sadness that their weeping did not dare to mount from the heart to the eyes, nor could the bosom trust its respiration to the lips. The father noted that, in proportion as they were sacrificed to the greed of another, just so much did they grow lukewarm in living according to the Catholic maxims. Since there was no one to speak for the Indians if that zealous minister became dumb, he resolved to defeat them efficaciously in order to make so great wrong cease, even if it were at his own risk. He asked humbly, exhorted fervently, and insisted in and out of season in proportion to the cause; but seeing his petitions unheeded in Tándag, he placed them in a Tribunal where they would receive attention.
235. The alcalde-mayor, resenting the father’s demands, took occasion to send his reports to Don Diego Faxardo; accordingly he said that that fortress of Carágha was in a state of vigorous defense, although it had a dangerous neighbor in the convent, for that was a very strong work and dominated the fortress. Consequently, he thought that it was a necessary precaution to destroy it. Thereupon the governor called a meeting of auditors, judges, and officials of the royal treasury; and on the nineteenth of December, 1647, they despatched a general order to all the alcaldes-mayor commanding that the stone churches and convents built along the sea shore be demolished. The reason given was that if the Dutch succeeded in capturing them in their invasions, they would find in them forts enabling them to continue their raids with greater persistency. Already the said captain had been withdrawn from Tándag and Don Juan Garcia appointed in his place when that order from the royal Audiencia was received. He called a meeting of Captains Juan de Sabáta and Don Marcos de Resines, also summoning Sargento-mayor Don Andrés Curto and the same alcalde-mayor who had been at Tándag—of whom he did not yet even know that he had given the said report. They recognized that the church could be burned and pulled down in less than six hours, in case the Dutch came; for its walls were built of the weakest kind of stone and the roof of nipa, which is as combustible as straw. On the other hand, they saw the Indian natives somewhat sad and feared that they would take to the mountains in flight in order not to be forced to work at a new building. Therefore they resolved, by common consent, to suspend the execution [of the order] until those reasons could be represented in the royal Audiencia, and the most advisable measures taken for the service of both Majesties.