8. I afterward ransomed another Manila Indian. He was sick, and I confessed him; but when we arrived at Macasar he died. I gave six pesos for him, and would doubtless have given my habit. We left the bay, but on St. Bartholomew’s eve we were obliged to put back into port because of heavy seas. On the Nativity of our Lady we left once more, and by slow sailing we reached the kingdom of Mamuyo.[35] We made port with great difficulty, and there all the sailors fell sick. Together with the sick Portuguese, and two servants whom we had, I bought a small boat. While it was being mended, I rested and looked after the sick. I saw the king’s palace; it was an excellent structure, and made of fine woods. We took our departure, the two champans remaining anchored there. It cost us our triumph to escape from some dangers; but we passed the nights with great ease and rest. Of a truth, we committed some acts of rashness. When we reached the kingdom of Mandar[36] we found another king, already an old man. He treated us well, and immediately sent the prince to see me; he was a fine young fellow. Moreover, we went to Macasar together, which is the capital of all the island. [There] we found the people more civilized. It was God’s will, and was due to His mercy, that I should reach Macasar nine months and three days after leaving Manila, although that voyage had never taken more than forty days. I thought that I had reached Paradise. I found two members of my order there, and I thought them two angels; and they certainly were that for me, for they regaled me as much as their poverty permitted. As for me, it is certain that nothing gladdened me so much as to see myself away from the sea, among my friends, and where I could say mass.
CHAPTER VIII
Of my stay in the kingdom of Macasar
[The large and fertile island of Macasar, which is located near Borneo, is ruled by one called the sumbanco (signifying “emperor”), who has many petty kings subject to him. Commerce is brisk, and ships from Manila, Goa, and Macao, and Dutch and English ships, frequent the island. The Portuguese of Malacca and the Mahometans from Siam were the first to publish the name of God there. “Before that trade opened, they were all heathen; they thought it well to accept one of the two faiths, and to follow it. Not to err in so necessary a matter, they resolved to employ a ridiculous method, namely, to despatch at the same time a boat to Sian for Moros, and another to Malacca for religious, agreeing that they would receive the first ones who arrived.” The Moros arrived first through the fault of the Portuguese. When Malacca falls to the Dutch, many Portuguese and mestizos take refuge at Macasar, where they are well received and form a considerable settlement. It is a haven for traders, for there are no duties of any kind, but the captains need only make presents to the sumbanco. The prince receives Navarrete well, and visits him at the house of an influential Portuguese. The churches of the Dominicans and Jesuits have been destroyed at the request of the bishop of Malacca, whence have arisen various troubles. Soon after, Navarrete pays a visit to the prince in the palace, where he sees various books and maps that had belonged to the missions. An embassy at that time from Jacatra finally results in war with the Dutch, who conquer the natives in 1670, and carry off the sumbanco and prince. As a consequence all the Portuguese leave the island. At Macasar, Navarrete meets the chief of Mindoro who had been captured four years before. The missionary preaches in Macasar through Lent, but the native rulers do not become Christians. Two Portuguese arrested for a murder by the sumbanco are promised life if they will renounce Christianity. One, refusing, is killed immediately; the other, acquiescing, is allowed to live, but soon escapes to Macao. Many of the Portuguese slaves have become Mahometans; and, in addition, Christians and Mahometans are living together in concubinage. In Borneo are more than four thousand captive Indians from Manila. “In all the islands of that archipelago there are Indians from Philipinas, either refugees or captives. Wherever I have been, from China to Surrate, I found people from Manila and its islands. People try, forsooth, to impute the decrease of the Indians to other and fanciful beginnings; but let them be well treated, and they will not flee. Let them be protected, and they will not be captured. No vessel leaves Manila, whether it is of Portuguese, or Siamese, or Cambodians, etc., that does not carry Indians from the islands.” In May, 1658, a Portuguese ship from Goa arrives at the island with information of the loss of Ceylon. Among its passengers are some Franciscans and Jesuits. Navarrete, tired of the sea, determines to go to Macan with the other religious, and devote his life to the Chinese missions.]
[1] Diaz’s account ante, gives this name as Juan de Velas. The Franciscan was Antonio de San Gregorio. [↑]
[2] In no. 11 of his first tratado, p. 39, Navarrete says of this fruit: “The lechia, called li chi by the Chinese, is considered in that region as the queen of fruits. One is not deceived in this, for I am sure that if the ate [i.e., Anona] did not exceed it, I could not find any fruit that would be better. Although it is a fact that good things are few and scarce, lechias are so plentiful, that the yield in the maritime provinces alone is immense; but they do not lose any of the esteem in which they are held for that reason. They are small, being slightly larger than a large nut, and the shell is green and thin. The inside is as white as snow, and it has a kernel in the middle as black as jet. Its savor, taste, refreshing powers, and odor make one praise the Creator. When they eat them, they generally put them in fresh water, for they say that they are somewhat hot. They eat as many as they can, drink a little water, and then the appetite is keen to go at it again. The tree is very tall and beautiful. I discovered them for Governor Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara in the mountains of Bantan, the year when I arrived at those islands. But, as they were wild, they were not so large as those in China. Mendoça calls them ciruelas [i.e., plums], but they deserve a better name.” This tree is also known as the alipai (Euphoria litchi), which is the name given it by the natives. The name “lechia” may be a corruption of the Chinese; on the other hand the Chinese name as given by Navarrete may be the corruption of “lechia.” Blanco (p. 199), describes the tree and fruit. See also Official Handbook of Philippines, p. 297. [↑]
[3] Apparently referring to the direction of the wind, as determined on the circumference of the compass or other instrument. [↑]
[4] The calantas, or Philippine cedar (Cedrela, of the order Meliaceæ); it is a valuable lumber tree. [↑]