Refutation
It is a known and universal Rule of War amongst the most civilized Nations, that Places taken by Storm, without any Capitulation, are subject to all the Miseries that the Conquerors may chuse to inflict.
Manila, my Lord, was in this horrid Situation; of Consequence the Lives of the Inhabitants, with all belonging to them, were entirely at our Mercy. But Christianity, Humanity, the Dignity of our Nation, and our own Feelings as Men, induced us not to exert the utmost Rigours of the Profession, against those wretched Suppliants; although my own Secretary, Lieutenant Fryar, had been murdered, as he was carrying a Flag of Truce to the Town. The Admiral and I told the Archbishop and principal Magistrates, that we were desirous to save so fine a City from Destruction, ordered them to withdraw, consult, and propose such Terms of Compensation as might satisfy the Fleet and Army, and exempt them from Pillage, and its fatal Consequences.
The Proposals they gave in, were the very same, which the Spaniards most artfully call a Second Capitulation; and were afterwards agreed to, and confirmed by us (with a few Restrictions) but at that time were so unsuitable to their desperate Situation, that we rejected them as unsatisfactory and inadmissible. As Conquerors, we took the Pen, and dictated those Terms of the Ransom which the Spaniards thought proper to submit to; for they had the Alternative, either to be passive under the Horrors of a Pillage, or compound for their Preservation; they accepted the latter.
The Objection and Pretence of Force and Violence may be made use of to evade any military Agreements whatsoever, where the two Parties do not treat upon an Equality; for who, in War, will submit to an inconvenient and prejudicial Compact, unless from Force? But have the Spaniards forgot their own Histories? Or will they not remember the just Indignation expressed against Francis the First, who pleaded the like Subterfuge of Force and Violence, to evade the Treaty made after the Battle of Pavia, and his Captivity?
Should such elusive Doctrines prevail, it will be impossible, hereafter, for the Vanquished to obtain any Quarter or Terms whatsoever: The War will be carried on usque ad internecionem;[14] and if a Sovereign shall refuse to confirm the Conditions stipulated by his Subjects, who are in such critical Situations, the Consequences are too horrid to mention.
By the same fallacious Sophistry, a State may object to the Payment of the Ransoms of Ships taken at Sea, and to Contributions levied in a Country which is the Seat of War. But it is always allowed, that in such Cases, a Part must be sacrificed to save the Whole; and surely, when by the Laws of War, we were entitled to the Whole, it was a great Degree of Moderation to be contented with a Part.
The Destruction that we could have occasioned, would have trebled the Loss they suffer by the Payment of the Ransom. The rich Churches and Convents, the King of Spain’s own Palace, with its superb and costly Furniture, the magnificent Buildings of every Sort, the Fortifications, Docks, Magazines, Founderies, Cannon, and in short the Whole might have been entirely ruined, the Spanish Empire in Asia subverted, and the Fruits of their religious Mission lost for ever,[15] together with the Lives of many Thousand Inhabitants, who were spared by our Humanity. As a suitable and grateful Return for this Lenity, the Spanish Memorial affirms, that after the Capitulation was signed, General Draper ordered or permitted, the City to be sacked and pillaged forty Hours together, by Four Thousand English, who plundered it of more than a Million of Dollars.
As my own Character, both as an Officer, and a Man of Honour, is so wickedly attacked by this unjust Accusation, I must beg Leave to state the whole Affair, in its true Light; and do appeal for its Veracity to the Testimonies of every Officer and Soldier, who served in the Expedition, and to all of the Marine Department.