In this private session father Fray Juan García declared under oath, in verbo sacerdotis, that, having kissed the feet of our most holy father Innocent XI on September 20, 1677, among other favors which his Holiness had granted him the latter had told him that by his apostolic authority he made good all the defects which might have occurred in the elections of this province, from its foundation until the said day. His Holiness granted him several jubilees for certain convents, and eleven thousand ordinary indulgences, in the new form which his Holiness has promulgated; and gave him two notable relics, a bone of St. Venturino the Martyr[34]—the first for the hospice at Méjico, and the other for the convent of San Pablo at Manila. Father Fray Juan García also obtained from his Holiness, on petition by this province, a bull in which he granted that all the procurators who may go to Rome and bring hither missions of religious shall enjoy the same exemptions which those possess who have been provincials (who are called absolutos); this was accepted [by the Council of Indias], and father Fray Juan García was the first who enjoyed this privilege, all his life. But he, as the devout religious that he was, would not allow the religious to address him as “Our Father,” as is the custom with the provincials, both active and retired; and, retiring to the province of Ilocos, where he was minister, he devoted himself to leading an exemplary life, abandoning himself entirely to meditation, mortification, and prayer until his death, and leaving behind a noble example as a sincere religious.
[The rest of this chapter is occupied with the coming (in the “San Telmo”) to Manila of Fernando de Valenzuela, the disgraced favorite of the queen-mother, and a sketch of his career in Spain. The last paragraph reads thus:] Don Juan de Vargas, learning of his arrival, and that he was already coming by land through the province of Camarines, sent to escort him General Don Francisco Enriquez de Losada and Captain Alfonso de Castillo; they conveyed him to the port of Cavite and the fortress of San Felipe. In that place a house was built for him, of timber, according to his taste and plan, with all possible conveniences; and there he lived—at the beginning, with much strictness, watched by sentinels, and receiving few visits; but afterward with more freedom, and visited by everyone, but always in the presence of Captain Juan de Herrera, the warden’s deputy. In this seclusion Don Fernando made use of his great mental ability, employing for his recreation the many talents which he possessed, especially in music and poetry; for in both these arts he had no equal in España. With the news which came by way of the coast of the death of Don Juan of Austria, the severities which, while he lived, had been employed toward Don Ferdinand were mitigated; and the prisoner enjoyed so much diversion and company that in these regions he could not have had more. Every month he was allowed a thousand pesos from the royal treasury, which was sufficient for his support and comforts, and for the expenses of the amusements which his cleverness and ingenuity devised for his recreation. I have taken more time than I should in this narration (which might pass for a mere ornament of my proper task), because this gentleman was much devoted to us—although he had received from us and from the Society of Jesus (to whom he acknowledged his obligations) much assistance in his seclusion and in certain difficulties which he had experienced. The rest of his fortunes I will relate in the proper place, when we reach the termination of the ten years of his retirement, his return to Nueva España, and finally his death. The author of the additions to Father Juan de Mariana’s Historie general de España,[35] at the end of the second volume, speaks very sharply and indignantly of this gentleman, and as he might speak of a wicked highwayman or of a cruel Nero. He certainly was wrong, for Don Fernando de Valenzuela was very zealous in the service of his king, and his power and influence in the government were very beneficial to the monarchy, as after his fall was recognized by all, even his greatest enemies. But flattery[36] must have mended the pen for him, so that in this matter he might show himself very prejudiced. Let the name of that writer be his apology, for it was Don So-and-so. [Fulano] Malo. The posthumous fame of Don Fernando de Valenzuela, however, will not be obscured by his errors.
Chapter VIII
The government of Don Juan de Vargas Hurtado proceeded with prosperous results, on account of the favorable seasons and the great abundance of the crops which were experienced in the years 1679 and 1680; and through the success and extent of the commerce which was maintained with China and the Coromandel coast, Surrate, and other ports of Oriental India and the kingdoms of the Great Mogor—which formerly were more than fifteen in number, and furnished much income to the royal treasury with the customs duties [derecho de a nojarifazgo]. Not only from the Coromandel coast—on which the Manila trade had founded populous settlements, as Portonovo and Cololu—but from the city of Goa came ships almost every year, commerce little known [to Manila] before, and very remote. The governor devoted much attention to the sessions of the Audiencia and the obligations of his office, and thus the legal business which devolved upon that court was expedited, through the uprightness and integrity of the auditors, Don Francisco Mansilla, Don Diego Calderón, and Don Diego de Viga; the last named filled the office of fiscal acceptably to all.
Map of Eastern Islands; photographic facsimile of map in Coronelli’s Atlante Veneto (Venetia, 1696)
[from original copy in Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris]
About this time there came to the general a solemn embassy from the principal ruler of Borney, whom those people revere as an emperor. This is the largest island of all Asia, and, according to the best cosmographers, has as great an area as all España and the kingdom of Portugal. It is thinly populated, as its surface is very mountainous; and therefore it is only on the shores of the sea and a few leguas inland that there are settlements of civilized people, if that name can be given to those barbarous nations. Borney has much wax, and in its seas are pearl-fisheries; it abounds in amber, camphor, and gold; and in its mountains are found large elephants, although smaller than those of Siám. Its inhabitants are partly Mahometans, partly heathens; but in color and disposition they resemble the natives of Filipinas, who say that they had their origin in these islands of Borney [and] the coast of Malayo. The ambassador was received with more ostentation than his person seemed to merit. Although he was corpulent and robust, he and all his retinue (which was not a small one) came barefooted and half-naked; he wore a broad bahaque, which tired him more than it covered him, and some wore a loose jacket, short and without a shirt (which is not known among these peoples); but all were well armed with lances and crises—which are swords as short as daggers, with which they are well able to defend themselves or attack, for usually they have these weapons dipped in poison. He made his entry [into the city] with great pomp, in the coach and with the halberdiers of the governor, and accompanied by the sargento-mayor of the garrison, Don José de Robles; and the governor received him under a canopy, as being he who represented the royal person. The ambassador’s credentials came in the Malayan language, written in Arabic characters; these were interpreted by the Borneans themselves, and by a Ternatan named Pedro Machado. The object of the embassy, they said, was to establish trade and commerce on both sides, and to adjust some disputes over the limits of the island of Paragua and in regard to some hostile acts which had been committed in the lands of Borney by Alcalde-mayor Don José de Somonte, in vengeance for the injuries which the Camucones had inflicted in our islands. Everything was settled to the satisfaction of both parties, and the ambassador returned well content and handsomely entertained, with a valuable present for his king in return for another (and very ordinary) one which he had brought. In the following year, the governor sent in turn an ambassador, General Don Juan de Morales Valenzuela, a man of gallant nature and tall stature, with a very goodly escort of Spaniards. He was very hospitably received by the king of Borney, in a large pavilion of bamboo and nipa, which was erected for this solemn function; and the king allowed himself to be seen by all his vassals, a favor which, they say, is very rare in that royalty. Don Juan de Morales returned very successful, the king ceding to the Spaniards dominion over all the island of Paragua, and making satisfaction for the ravages by the Camucones; and since then we have remained very good friends [with the Borneans].
All the three years’ term of our father provincial Fray Juan de Jeréz was very peaceable, our order and the observance of our rules nourishing in this province, which continually increased in prosperity through the opportune measures which this judicious and devout prelate employed; for certainly he was one of the most observant superiors it had had, and it made great advancement in every way during the time of his government.