Sources: The first of these documents is obtained from the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer library), ii, pp. 643–692. The second, from Santa Cruz’s Historia del Sant. Rosario (Zaragoça, 1693), pp. 44 et seq.; from a copy in the possession of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago. The third, from Diaz’s Conquistas (Manila, 1890), pp. 444 et seq.; from a copy in the possession of James A. Robertson. The fourth, from Navarrete’s Tratados historicos (Madrid, 1676), pp. 299–332; from a copy in the Library of Congress; this document will be concluded in VOL. XXXVIII.
Translations: The first document is translated by Emma Helen Blair; the remainder, by James A. Robertson.
EVENTS IN FILIPINAS, 1668
Copy of a letter written by a citizen of Manila to another at the court in Madrid
It is notorious among all the people of these islands that Don Diego Salcedo,[1] as soon as he took possession of their government, deprived me of the command that I held as captain-general of the artillery therein—without any further reason than that I was a follower of Don Sabiniano Manrrique de Lara, his predecessor. The latter governed these islands with ability as his works show—bestowing honors with liberal hand on all the citizens of this state; and rewarding all whose standing and services deserved it, and even many more. How little gratitude he received for these favors may be learned from his own confession and statement. He suffered much in the residencia which he furnished of his government; although he deserved to leave it with laurels, he experienced intolerable severities inflicted by those whom he had most benefited. Don Diego was not content with depriving me of my command, but desired to inflict further injury upon me, and one which would result in more annoyance to Don Sabiniano Manrrique de Lara—to whom I owe what I am; and I have striven to repay, to some extent, by personal service the much that I owed him by attending to the business matters that came up in his residencia, and providing an outfit of stores for his voyage. In order, therefore, to remove me from Don Sabiniano’s side, Don Diego commanded me to go with some infantry to protect the coast of the province of Tayabas; he said that he had news that the armed fleets of Borney and Mindanao were roaming about infesting the villages of the island of Mindoro, and that they comprised 170 vessels. His object, as above stated, was evident in the scanty equipment of men and supplies that was furnished to me. I remained there until Don Sabiniano entreated that I might be withdrawn [from that post], since the time of his embarkation for Nueva España was very near, and he desired to settle with me some matters relating to his outfit, as his Lordship could not do this with any one else. But my permission [to retire] came so late that when I arrived in this city Don Sabiniano was already at the port of Cavite to go on shipboard; and I had only five days in which to aid his Lordship, when the ship set sail. I bring forward all this in order to show that I am not governed by prejudice.
Now, stating the case, I declare that on October 9 of this present year at one o’clock at night the palace was entered by the father commissary of the Holy Office, Fray Jose Paternina, with the two alcaldes-in-ordinary, General Sebastian Rayo and Don Nicolas de Pamplona, Sargento-mayor Diego de Morales, and Captains Don Gonzalo Samaniego (a nephew of the commissary) and Don Juan de Vargas—both citizens who hold that office in this royal camp, each commanding a company; also Don Juan de Robles, and three or four others. Twenty other men remained in various offices of the palace, and eighteen or twenty friars of St. Francis all armed. These visitors seized Don Diego immediately placing on him a pair of fetters; he was in his shirt just as he was sleeping, and without giving him time to put on his white drawers they thrust his Lordship into a hammock, and carried him a prisoner to the convent of San Francisco. There they shut him within a cell with soldiers as guards to secure his person. The company who were on guard in the palace, on hearing the noise, were ready to spring to their arms; but the master-of-camp—who was Don Agustin de Zepeda, whom I have already mentioned, went to make the guard-room safe, and gave orders that no one should stir, because the Inquisition had been performing its duty.
By morning the news of this unheard-of occurrence had spread around; and by the time the city gates were opened the people were in amazement, which could only be understood by one who should know by experience the greatness and power of a governor of these islands. I was alcalde-mayor of the province of Tondo, and it gave me no little anxiety to notice the mutterings of the Indians who seemed to be rising out of a deep lethargy.
[As for the question] whether the Holy Office could act without the coöperation of the supreme authority here, since [the governor is] a personage who represents in these islands the royal person, there is not a learned person in the two religious orders of St. Dominic and the Society who will not answer it in the negative. And as the loyal vassal has no greater obligation than to obey the commands of his king and natural lord, and in regard to the faith, that which is taught by our mother the Roman Catholic Church, without [giving it] any other interpretation than that given by the holy doctors of the Church, I know not what to say, since I will not withdraw from this or retract one jot. The disputes which Don Diego, when he came from Nueva España to govern these islands, had with the father commissary Fray Jose Paternina over some differences and grievances were public and notorious; and those whom the father commissary carried with him [for this arrest] were nearly all enemies of Don Diego. It is not a rash assumption by those who are more inclined to reflect that this affair was thus hurried through more through passion than through virtuous zeal. I base my opinion on the following reasons, not to mention many others which I reserve for their proper time, as I have not leisure at present for writing more at length—submitting myself to the correction of the Holy Office; for I am, and am proud of being, a Christian Catholic and a descendant of the Catholic knights.
The first, as I said, was that the father commissary was at outs with his Lordship on account of disputes between them during the voyage. Moreover, the father commissary was poor and his provincial, father Fray Alonso Quijano, had not provided him with any post as prior in his order, and had not treated the commissary as the latter wished. Then too, the governor had given no office to Captain Don Gonzalo Samaniego, the commissary’s nephew—whom his uncle the commissary so valued, and so endeavored to provide for; and, although the nephew was appointed a captain in this royal camp, he was not captain of any company on account of the scarcity of men, since the reënforcements sent by the viceroy of Nueva España to his Lordship were very limited.