This is followed by a valuable series of documents (mainly in synopsis) concerning Simon de Anda y Salazar, the patriotic auditor, and the English invasion. The various letters, etc., consist of communications between Anda and the weak archbishop, Rojo; Anda and the British; the archbishop and the Filipinos; and the British and Diego Silang, the insurgent. By means of them one may follow fairly accurately the course of events after the taking of Manila. Throughout, Anda’s tone is one of intense bitterness toward the archbishop, whom he accuses of venality and collusion with the British. The archbishop, on the contrary, accuses Anda, whom the British proscribe, of usurping power not his own, and of lack of patriotism. The abortive Chinese insurrection, instigated by the British, is put down by Anda with terrible vengeance. There are charge and countercharge between Anda and the British (whose proscription Anda has met) of inhumanity, each side striving to clear itself from such an imputation. Anda is slow to accept the assurances of peace, and to grant a truce to hostilities, for he fears some British treachery. He demands that they leave the islands, in accordance with the terms of the treaty (made in February 1763), and by which they should have left the islands in August 1763. Early in 1764, the treaty is sent on a British vessel which also carries orders for the British to go to the Coromandel coast; with which the Spaniards are left in peaceful possession of the islands.
The archbishop-governor writes a long relation of events (probably in 1763) preceding and following the assault by the British, in which his chief aim is to justify his own conduct, as many charges have been preferred against him. He has been mindful of the peace and harmony of the islands, has healed breaches, has encouraged agriculture, has looked after the defense of the islands, and increased the navy. The repair of the public works has engrossed a part of his attention, but his plans are not to be perfected, for the English spoil that. He has also bettered the condition of the treasury; and in view of the fact that the whole concern of the people is centered about the annual trading galleon, has tried to improve the lethargy, idleness, and vice into which they fall when that matter is attended to. He relates the story of the siege and assault, and the dispositions of the British, and the general events of the period immediately following. Throughout he justifies his own conduct, as in the letters to Anda, recounting his troubles with various Spanish officials, the British, and Anda. He protests that he has acted only for the interests of the Spanish monarch, and indignantly repels the idea that he has been in collusion with the British. This is in many ways an especially interesting document, and supplements the information of the other documents considerably.
In a letter to King Cárlos III, dated June 22, 1764, Anda relates the measures taken by him in his office as Audiencia, governor and captain-general. These measures cover a wide range, extending to things social, economic, moral, and religious. A fixed tariff for provisions, etc., the coinage, the Chinese, who are allied with the British, the military, the seculars, the surveillance and care of the Filipinos, the churches, agriculture, proscription of certain British officers, the curfew, prohibition of gambling games, regulation of the sale of intoxicants, and strict regulations regarding theft—all these engage his attention.
Another letter from Anda to Cárlos III, dated July 23, 1764, is devoted entirely to the archbishop, who is characterized as wanting in loyalty. Anda, while protesting his own loyalty and devotion to the crown of Spain, declares the many acts of the archbishop (who is now dead) during and after the assault. The latter has written violent letters to Anda, and has acted entirely in the interests of the British. His boon companions have been the traitors Orendain and Fallet, by whom he has been influenced to sign the cession of the islands. Anda has been proscribed at his instigation as a rebel, but that cannot be, as he has never consented to become a vassal of the British, and his loyalty to the Spanish monarch is known. Although the archbishop was urged to give up his foolish pretensions to the governorship, he would never do so. That position rightfully belonged to Anda after the assault, and even the British always spoke of the archbishop as the ex-governor. The latter’s want of loyalty is exemplified by his refusal to send the royal seal to Anda, though he could easily have done so.
Baltasar Vela, S.J., of Manila, writes his nephew, Brother Antonio Gonzalez, S.J., of Madrid, July 24, 1764, informing him that the British have at last left Manila, after a rule there of eighteen months. That city fell because of the lack of political sense of the Spaniards and their insufferable pride, for it could have been easily defended, as it is impregnable almost by its location alone. Its loss he charges to the methods of Spanish traitors who won over the archbishop, so that it was arranged that everything should be left open for the assault by the British on the fifth of October. There was no breach made in the walls, he affirms, but the British soldiers scaled them by means of holes in the soft stone. The attempt to kill Anda was arranged by the traitors with the Chinese and British. The latter were aided throughout by the traitorous Spaniards, the Chinese, and the natives whom they manage to corrupt; but most of their plans outside Manila come to nought. The letter closes with several personal matters, among them a request for reading matter.
A series of representations, forty-six in all, made by Anda and Francisco de la Torre (governor ad interim) in June and July of 1764, treat in part of the matters covered in preceding documents. Notices are given of the insurrections in Ilocos and Pangasinan, both of which have been instigated and aided by the British, and both of which are finally put down, the latter with the aid of Bishop Ustariz. Anda praises the religious orders, especially the Augustinians, although he notes that some of the religious of St. John of God have been discontented. Joló affairs and the British alliance with the king of that island are discussed briefly. Orendain, who has been disloyal to the king, has gone with his family to Madras with the English. The fines imposed upon Villacorta and Viana do not appear to have been rightly adjudged. Torre asks that a rule be given regulating the conduct of the single member left to represent the Audiencia, as in the case of Anda, should such a contingency again occur. Anda’s conduct deserves only complete and hearty approval.
Two declarations are presented by General Draper (both probably in 1764), in which he protests against the charges of inhumanity that have been brought against him in regard to the affair at Manila, and urges the payment of the remainder of the ransom which the Spaniards refuse. The Spaniards charge the British with breaking the agreements of the capitulation, but it is they themselves who have broken them all. By various subterfuges they have endeavored and are endeavoring to escape the payment of the ransom. Less than one-half million dollars of the four millions have as yet been paid. The story of the siege and subsequent events is in part gone over, including some little of Anda’s operation. The action of the East India Company, to whom the city was turned over shortly after the assault, causes the captors to lose about 200,000 dollars. The second declaration is made necessary because of the new arguments put forward by the Spanish to evade payment of the ransom bills given on the Spanish treasury at the capitulation of Manila. The British have a right to that city until all the ransom has been paid.
A short letter from Eugenio Carrion, S.J., to Joseph de Rueda, S.J., written from San Pedro Macati, July 8, 1765, notes the conclusion of peace and the arrival of a new proprietary governor, Francisco Raon. Francisco de la Torre, governor ad interim, has left Manila in a good state of defense and has begun operations against the Moros, which will doubtless be continued by Raon. This will make the trade of the Visayan Islands flourishing once more. In their retirement from the islands the British have lost one-half their boats and men, the latter numbering in all 8,000. News of the Chinese affairs will have been received through the Portuguese fathers. There are still about thirty fathers in that empire, ten or eleven of whom live openly in Pekin, while the others are in hiding. Carrion prays that the Society may safely weather the storm (the approaching suppression) that has assailed it as a whole.
The last of this series of documents is a letter from Bernardo Pazuengos, S.J., the Philippine provincial, to Joaquin Mesquida, S.J., the procurator-general, written from Santa Cruz. The first part of the letter, dated June 17, 1765, complains of Francisco de la Torre, who has lived as a libertine and has been especially hostile toward the religious orders. The arrival of a new governor is awaited eagerly by all the decent inhabitants. The Jesuits and Dominicans are fully resolved to resign their missions as existing conditions of affairs will not permit them longer to hold them. So poor are the fathers, whose stipends are no longer paid, that they are compelled to make their shoes out of the parchment of their books. Their missions are heavily in debt. The Moros, and even the Christians, have raided the missions. The Visayan Islands are ruined, and one-half their inhabitants have been killed and captured. Jesuit estates have been burned. The Recollects have escaped no better, in all probability. Auditor Galban has declared that the pious funds are the ruin of the islands and of trade. Vigorous measures are being taken against the Jesuits. The fiscal urges action against all the religious orders. The arrival of the “Santa Rosa” with the new governor on July 3 is noted. The letter finally closes on July 20.
The Editors