The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898

Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century,

Volume XXXVIII, 1674–1683

Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord Bourne.

The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMVI

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVIII

ILLUSTRATIONS

  • [Map of Manila and its suburbs]; photographic facsimile from original MS. (dated 1671) in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 45
  • [The Philippine Islands]; photographic facsimile of map drawn by Captain John Kempthorne, ca. 1688; (evidently from earlier map of 1676); from original manuscript map in the British Museum 95
  • [Map of portion of Philippine Islands]; drawn by William Hacke, ca. 1680; photographic facsimile from original manuscript map in the British Museum 213
  • [Inhabitants of the Ladrones Islands]; photographic facsimile of engraving in T. de Bry’s Peregrinationes, 1st ed. (Amsterdam, 1602), tome xvi, no. iv, p. 34; from copy in Boston Public Library 257

PREFACE

The present volume (1674–83) is partly descriptive of the Philippines, as seen by the quaint Dominican writer Navarrete; and about half of it is occupied with the insurrections by the Filipino natives in the seventeenth century, a topic of special importance in regard to the relations between the natives and their conquerors, and to the influence of the missionaries.

Resuming the relation by Navarrete (begun in the preceding volume), we find an account of the fall of Fajardo’s favorite Venegas; of various dangers from which the writer escapes; etc. He praises at length the excellent qualities and abilities of Governor Manrique de Lara. He relates a missionary trip to Luban and Mindoro, and describes those islands, their products, and their people. Navarrete is stationed in a curacy in Mindoro, and relates some of his experiences therein. Having returned to Manila, he goes to Bataan, where he and others are grievously annoyed by goblins or demons, for several months. He goes again to Mindoro, with another priest, and while there a threatened attack by pirates sends the Indians in flight to the hills, which compels the fathers to return to Manila. Navarrete relates the loss of several galleons by storms. He laments the cruelty with which the Spaniards treat the natives in the labor of shipbuilding, and says that “at times, religious are sent to protect and defend them from the infernal fury of some Spaniards.” Then he describes Manila and the products of Luzón, in sketchy but enthusiastic fashion. He mentions with surprise the number of Chinese, besides mestizos and natives, who are maintained for the service of the Spanish colony there. The Chinese are, in religious matters, under the care of the Dominicans. Navarrete enumerates many prominent persons in Manila whom he knew, both laymen and ecclesiastics; and describes the hospitable and pious treatment accorded to the Japanese Christians (some of them lepers) who were exiled to Manila. He decides to leave the islands, and goes (1653) to Macasar; the hardships and perils of that voyage are vividly related. Buffeted by fierce storms, the vessel does not arrive at its destination until nine months after leaving Manila—some two months being spent at a Malay village on the northern coast of Celebes, where the Spanish passengers on the vessel suffer greatly from hunger. They finally reach Macasar, where Navarrete spends several years, in 1658 departing for Macao, to enter the Chinese missions. His narrative, although rambling and sketchy, is fresh and picturesque; and it indicates a keen and shrewd observer, and a man intelligent, enthusiastic, outspoken, and humane.

The Dominican procurator-general at Madrid represents to the Spanish government (1674) the evils arising from the “almost perpetual vacancies” in the episcopal sees of the islands, and their subjection to the secular government there; and he makes recommendations for correcting these evils. In consequence of his efforts, the royal Council recommend various measures for this object.

A papal decree of December 17, 1677, allows to the Augustinian procurators the same prerogatives and privileges that are enjoyed by ex-provincials of the order.

By royal decree (May 17, 1680) the university of Santo Tomás is placed under the royal patronage.

The bishop of Nueva Segovia, Francisco de Pizarro, writes to Cárlos II (February 24, 1683), giving a brief outline of the controversy between the Jesuits and Dominicans over their respective colleges in Manila; he takes occasion to praise the Jesuits and their labors.

Much light is thrown upon the relations of the Spaniards with the Filipinos, and upon the native character, by the accounts (some of them almost contemporary) here presented of insurrections by Filipinos in the seventeenth century. These occur in northern Luzón (1621, 1625, 1629, 1639), Bohol and Leyte (1622), Mindanao (1629, 1650), Pampanga (1645, 1660) and Pangasinán (1661) in Luzón, the Visayan Islands (1649–50), Otón in Panay (1663, 1672), and among the Zambals (1661, 1681, 1683). Accounts of these are here translated from early chronicles, their writers representing the various religious orders; and are arranged chronologically. These revolts are caused partly by Spanish oppression, but even more by the influence of certain chiefs who desire to restore the old worship of idols, and who appeal to the superstitious, credulous, and fickle natures of their followers. They are, in each case, sooner or later quelled by the Spaniards, thanks to their bravery and their possession of firearms; and severe punishments are inflicted on the ringleaders, thus restraining further attempts to throw off the Spanish yoke. The rebellion of 1649–50 is so general that the Spaniards are obliged to call in the aid of the Lutaos of southern Mindanao, themselves enemies and pirates not many years before; but they willingly go to attack their ancient enemies the Visayans. In several of these insurrections, great dangers are averted by the influence that the missionaries have acquired over the natives, and they sometimes are able even to prevent rebellions; they often risk their lives in thus going among the insurgents, Nevertheless, the first fury of the insurgents is directed against the churches, and sometimes against the missionaries as well as the other Spaniards; they kill some friars, burn the convents and churches, and profane the images. Diaz ascribes this to the shrewd scheming of the ringleaders to involve the crowd in general guilt, and thus secure the adherence and more desperate resistance of their followers. One of the insurrections is led by a scheming priest of idols who persuades the natives that he is God; and certain of his associates personate Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Virgin Mary—only to receive heavier punishment when their rebellion is overthrown. The policy of the Spaniards toward the natives is plainly shown in these accounts, and often reminds the reader of that pursued by the French with the North American tribes, and by the English with the natives of India.

The English buccaneer William Dampier spent most of the years 1686–87 in the Philippine Islands; his own account of this sojourn (published in 1697) is an interesting and valuable addition to Philippine documentary material. Departing from Cape Corrientes in Mexico (March 31, 1686), they sail across the Pacific in order to plunder the vessels engaged in the Philippine commerce, and on May 21 reach Guam, whose people and products are minutely described. The population of that island is greatly reduced, because most of the natives had left it after an unsuccessful rebellion against their Spanish conquerors. The English obtain a supply of provisions here, by professing to be Spaniards. Thence they depart for Mindanao (June 2), where they remain until January 13, 1687. Dampier describes, with much detail, the fauna, products, people, and customs of Mindanao. This document will be concluded in VOL. XXXIX.

The Editors

April, 1906.

MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS, 1674–1683

Sources: The first document is concluded from VOL. XXXVII, q.v. The second is obtained from the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer library), iii, pp. 1–5. The third is from Hernaez’s Colección de bulas, i, p. 592. The fourth is from Algunos documentos relat. á la Uuniv. de Manila, pp. 31–33. The fifth is from a MS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla. The sixth is from various early writers, full references to each being given in the text. The seventh is from the Voyages of Dampier, London ed. of 1703, i, pp. 279–402; from a copy in the library of Harvard University.

Translations: The first, second, fourth, and seventh of these documents are translated by James A. Robertson; the third, by Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.; the fifth and sixth, by Emma Helen Blair.

MANILA AND THE PHILIPPINES ABOUT 1650

(Concluded)

CHAP. V

What I observed and accomplished in that time

1. In the year of 53, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, a brother of the Conde de Friginiana, arrived in Manila as governor of the islands. He was accompanied by the archbishop, Don Miguel de Poblete, a creole from La Puebla de los Angeles; the bishop of Nueva Segovia, Señor Cardenas, a creole of Pirù, of my order, a very learned and illustrious preacher; the bishop of Nueva Caceres, one San Gregorio, a Franciscan; and Doctor Ucles,[1] dean of the Manila cathedral, as bishop of Zibu. He brought people and money, with which the islands were resuscitated. All their citizens were worn out, poor, sad, and exhausted with the severity and too great seclusion of Don Diego Faxardo. The affability of the new governor was very pleasing. He held intercourse with all, gave audience to all, went through the city, visited the convents, and scrupulously attended the feasts, and sermons published on the list. He was entertaining, and could sustain a conversation very agreeably with his fine understanding. He was not at all vain or proud, but was pious and very religious. At times when I heard him speak of the things of God and of freeing oneself from the deceits of the world, he kept my attention, absorbed, both with the words that he uttered, and with the effective way and the spirit with which he expressed them. He was never partial [in dealing] with the orders; but he venerated, loved, and wished well to them all, bearing himself toward them as a prince ought. He showed himself to be devout, and very devout on not few occasions; and he personally attended the processions which were formed in the city. He was a giver of alms, and tried hard to advance the [welfare of the] community. For that purpose, many marriages took place by his arrangement; and he aided in them by bestowing some offices. On the occasion when the new archbishop absolved that land, by special order of his Holiness, from the censures incurred through the exile pronounced against the archbishop by Corcuera (of which mention has been made above), the same Don Sabiniano brought Señor Poblete to the postern of the Almacenes [i.e., magazines], where that exile had been enforced, so that he might pronounce his blessing there. When it was done, Don Sabiniano threw himself at the archbishop’s feet, and said: “Your Excellency may be assured that I shall never cause such disturbances.” That action was a fine example for all men.

2. He was unfortunate in some things, especially in the loss of ships during his time, but I do not see that he is at all to blame for this. What blame could be attached to Don Sabiniano because the ship in which Don Pedro de Villaroel was commander was wrecked? Where did Don Sabiniano sin because another ship was lost in which the commander Ugalde and Thomàs Ramos were so interested? What I know is that that gentleman labored assiduously, that he built fine ships, and that he fortified the city admirably to resist the Chinese. I heard of some charges afterward that had been made against him in his residencia, which surely are more worthy of being laughed at than to be taken in any other way. The little bad temper that he had was the best thing that he could display in that land. I noted one thing, over which I pondered with all my care, namely, that if he ever through his quick and choleric nature uttered two words in anger to anyone, he was so sorry and repentant, that there was no means or method that he did not seek in order to assure and content the one aggrieved, to whom thereafter he showed much kindness, and treated with unusual expressions of love—a great argument that for his good and pious disposition. That is a matter on which much could be written, if my purpose did not prevent me.

3. But my heart will not allow me to let the great services and merits of that very illustrious gentleman remain buried in forgetfulness; for that reason I determined to insert some of them here. I am not playing the part of a great thinker, and still less that of an historian, for my pen is very weak and limited. I shall merely relate simply, in accordance with my style, what I am very sure of. It is not my business to publish the blueness of his blood, nor to attempt to give the world knowledge of the origin and stock of the most noble family of the Manriques de Lara, or of its most brilliant branches, which make glorious and illustrious so many houses of España; for besides the fact that that is superior to my limited abilities, I would be presuming to exhibit the resplendent rays of the sun....

4. I confess also that if the subject of whom I am treating had no greater splendor than that communicated by his blood, my attention would not be so taken up with him. It cannot be denied that the heir to nobility deserves great praises; nor is there any doubt that acquired nobility mounts above and lifts the former even to the clouds.... And thus I say that that gentleman has with his devotion, excellent example, and services for his Majesty gained new splendors for the Manriques de Lara, and greatly increased their glories.

5. While I was in the port of Cavite in 1656, I heard that he had held the appointment of master-of-camp at the age of nineteen. There are men who acquire more in a few years by their valor and courage than others in many years.

[Navarrete relates that when the princess Margarita of Portugal was in Lisboa, Don Sabiniano was made admiral of the fleet assembled against France, and held that post for eighteen months. At the separation of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns he was taken prisoner, and was confined in various prisons, from December 25, 1640 to May 8, 1645. After being set at liberty he was soon given the post of castellan of Acapulco.]

Then followed the government of Philipinas, a post [which is bestowed] as a reward for the greatest services, and is the first and best of all in the Indias. He governed as I have written, and as I shall write hereafter. He has held no other place, because he did not desire it. I remember quite distinctly what he said to me one day in Manila: “Father Fray Domingo, if God carries us to España, your Reverence will see how I shall seclude myself at Malaga, in order to live [so as to prepare] for death, without meddling more with the affairs of the world.” Thus did he do, and I see that he is doing it. I would very willingly write at greater length, if, as I have said, the principal purpose of this work did not prevent it.

12. Shortly after the new governor had entered the country, I discovered in the mountains of Batan the famous fruit considered as a delicacy in China, which is called lechias by the Spaniards and li chi by the Chinese. It is one of the best fruits in the world. I took some to Manila, and they were the first fresh ones that have been in that city; for those taken thither from China are dried, and do not at all resemble the fresh ones. I wrote about this fruit in the first treatise.[2]

13. At that time, when I was convalescing, I offered to accompany one of Ours who was about to go to the island of Luban, and thence to the island of Mindoro, to visit some mission fields, and do what I could to benefit those wretched Indians. The island of Luban is situated twelve leguas from that of Manila. It is small but beautiful. There are many cocoa palm-groves in those fields, and considerable cotton from which very fine cloth is made. The village has about 200 tributes. That place contains a well-built fort, which has a most excellent moat, for the purpose of defending the inhabitants from the Camucones robbers. The latter, through our very culpable neglect, infest that and other districts every year with the greatest loss of his Majesty’s vassals. During the season when we were there, there was an unexpected attack. We hastened to the fort, but the attack ended in nothing. The church is a suitable one and is well adorned. The cura had established the custom that, when the time for the Ave Marias rang, they should ring to recite the rosary, to which all the village hastened. Some people assured us that after the establishment of that holy devotion no enemy had ever gone thither, although before that time many had attacked and pillaged them of all their possessions. Formerly, they neither recited the rosary nor had a fort; and afterward they had all that, but the first was sufficient for their defense. We confessed and preached there until after the feast of the Nativity, which was celebrated very solemnly. During that time a fearful storm arose, and, in order to assure our safety, we descended to the portal, for we thought the house would be carried away. A royal champan was sailing not very far from that place, in which were the captain and alcalde-mayor of Caraga and his wife, and three Recollect fathers. They were running before the wind without knowing where they were going. The night was very dark, and the seas were running high; they thought that they were lost, but they did not know whether the land was far or near. Two of the Augustinian Recollect fathers took counsel between themselves, alone and secretly; and according to what is believed they must have said that it was better to anticipate and not to wait until all of them should fall into the water, where there is generally some difficulty in keeping clear of one another. Each of them tied up his small mattress, which was filled with varo (a material like cotton, which will float on the water for a long time), and then, calling his servant, jumped into the sea without being perceived or seen by anyone. The result only gave the others occasion to imagine what has been written. Their associate and the others felt it keenly. Neither of them was ever heard of again. The first heavy sea must have washed their mattresses out of their hands, and they must have perished without any help. At dawn the little vessel ran ashore on the beach of a small island one-half legua from Luban. All the people were saved except a female slave, who was drowned suddenly when she jumped into the water to go ashore, and no one was able to aid her. They reached Luban, so weak and miserable that their faces plainly showed their sufferings. The cura treated them very hospitably.

14. On Epiphany we crossed by sail and oar the channel to Mindoro. That same afternoon we went up to the village of Calavit, which is situated more than one legua from the sea; all the way the road lies straight up hill and is rough. After three days we descended in order to go to Guistin, where we were to lodge, and whence we were to go to all other parts. We walked more than six leguas that day over the most infernal road that can be imagined. In places we clambered over rocks, and in parts, even with the aid of the Indians, we were unable to ascend. We found a place where the rocks were all jagged, and so sharp and penetrating that, actually and truly, they wore out the soles of our shoes. The poor Indians, who go barefoot naturally and legitimately, walked along with the soles of their feet dripping blood, which caused us to overflow with compassion. We reached the foot of the mountain of Guistin without having eaten a mouthful. There we found some Indians who had some roasted potatoes, although these were cold. We ate a trifle of that refreshment and then began to climb the mountain. It is as high as the other but without comparison much rougher. For a goodly distance we did nothing but clamber up by laying hold of the roots of trees. We walked the rest of the way, but after taking twenty paces we would throw ourselves on the ground to breathe a bit. Finally, by God’s help we arrived and found the church. Without being able to enter it, we fell face downward on the earth near the door, where we stayed a long time in order to rest a little. We found ourselves afterward so sweaty that even our outside habits contained moisture. The wind which was blowing was cold and violent in the eighth degree.[3] We took shelter for that night in a poor little hut of straw, which was open to the four winds. Our supper was a small bit of biscuit soaked in a trifle of the wine used for mass, [which we drank] for fear of the cold. We slept sitting, close to one another. Next day (which dawned clear) we made use of the sun to dry our clothes. After mass we set about our business, namely, looking after the souls of those Indians. It must be observed that the whole refreshment there consisted of some eggs, rice, and potatoes; those mountains contain many and excellent potatoes. On the day of the Purification, after having said mass and preached, I returned in one day to Calavit, passing for the second time over that good road. The weariness, sweat, wind, and poor food caused me an attack of illness that night, while I was alone in my wretched little hut of bamboo and straw—so that I thought I would end my life there; and in truth I was consoled. I remained there for some days, doing what I could. Then I went to two other small villages, the way thither being over a very bad road; there I instructed, preached, and baptized some of the people. One day I found myself with nine young fellows of marriageable age who had descended the mountains to ask baptism. They had never seen a priest. Having been catechised they received the waters of baptism. One old man who must have been, beyond any question, more than eighty years old, responded very readily to the catechism, and showed himself very devout. When I was going to recite the divine office, he walked back of me. Once I called to him and asked him what he wanted, and why he always dogged my footsteps. He replied to me: “Father, I hear you say that we are obliged to know the Christian doctrine; and as I do not know it, I am seeking the opportunity so that your Reverence may teach it to me.” “How many years,” I asked him, “have you been a Christian?” “One year,” he replied; “and I am sure that I understood what it was from childhood.” Thereupon I asked him further: “Who baptized you, and how?” He gave me an account of everything, and said that no word had been taught him; and that he had been told that it was because he was old and could not learn. That caused me a great sorrow and I began immediately to catechise him. I took him with me to the seashore, and, we twain having seated ourselves, I explained the Credo to him as clearly as possible, accommodating myself to his capacity. Said I to him: “You see this sea and that sky: God created them all.” He immediately answered: “Is it possible? is God so great that He could do that?” I repeated what I had said, and explained it to him, and said again: “Yes, that sky, this earth, the sea, etc., all are the work of God.” He repeated in great astonishment: “So great, so great is God?” He repeated that many times. I took great pains with him and he did the same himself, for he understood it better than did the young fellows. I confessed him afterwards, and found that I had to absolve him. I asked him “Juan, have you ever sworn or told a lie?” “For what purpose, Father? or why should I swear or tell a lie?” he answered. “Have you had any words or quarreled with any person?” “Father, I live alone; I attend to my field; I neither see nor talk to anyone. Even if I wished to quarrel, I have no one with whom to quarrel.” Thus did he reply to all my questions. I gave him some small articles of clothing, and told him that his name was Juan de Dios [i.e., John of God]. He was very happy, and I was very much consoled. That little village having been instructed, and the children baptized, as well as the adults above mentioned, I returned to Guistin. The cura of Nanhoan, thirty leguas south, summoned one of us, and I resolved to go there immediately.

15. When sailing in sight of a beach, the Indians discovered a carabao or buffalo which was near the water. We drew to the land. I remained on the sea, and the Indians attacked with their spears. The animal performed some queer antics; it rushed madly into the sea, and made furiously for the boat where I was. It struck the outside bamboos, and, had it not done that, I would have been in danger of my life. The Indians finally killed it, and immediately cut it into bits on the spot for drying. I landed to await my men, when we immediately caught sight of a band of Negrillos of the mountain. We recognized that they were peaceful, whereupon I calmed myself. In order that the sight of me might not scare them, I hid among some trees. About thirty men, women, and children came, all of whom, both male and female, carried bows and arrows. All were naked, except for the privies, which they cover with the leaves of a certain tree. The men were tattooed in white, the women in other colors, and they wore large wild flowers in their ears. In truth, both men and women resembled devils. When they began to chat with the Indians I came out suddenly and spoke to them in their language, and offered them tobacco in the leaf, a thing which they esteem highly. When they saw me they were thrown into confusion, and almost all the women and some of the children ran away, with such swiftness that one would think that they were flying. The others remained quiet. I gave them tobacco, coaxed them and treated them with great gentleness. Two women went to look for fresh drinking water; and the Indians, having finished with the carabao, left these [Negrillos] there with the intestines, stomach, and bones. The Indians told me that, after our party would leave the place, all these wild people would gather here, and would not go away until they had gnawed the bones, and would even eat the stomach with its contents.

16. At ten o’clock at night we ascended the river of Baccò, which is the chief town of that island. The rain fell so heavily that the village was under water. I remained there twenty-four hours. There is a very lofty mountain within sight of the village, down which falls a river which, when viewed from below, appears like a crystal mountain. The water passes near the village, and, as it seethes so mightily, and is overhung by a quantity of sarsaparilla, it is a wonderful sight. That island has some peculiarities. First, it has a great number of civet cats, from which much civet can be obtained for trade. There is the greatest quantity of wax in all those mountains; no account is taken of the honey. There are potatoes, sweet potatoes, grapes, yams, and fruits, in the greatest abundance; an infinite number of cedars,[4] whose flower, which I saw often, exhales the sweetest odor and is very large; and cocoa-palms in great abundance. There is another kind of palm from which they get honey, wine, vinegar, tuba, and sugar. There are also innumerable trees, resembling bananas, from which a black fiber is obtained for the rigging and cables of ships, of which there are so many that one is surprised. There is another species of white fiber which comes from another tree called abaaca. There are more of that kind in another part. It is excellent for ship cables, for the more it is wet the stronger it becomes. There is another tree on which a certain bark grows, as white as snow. It is soft as soft can be to the touch, and the Indians use it for their beds and for clothing—although they are not without cotton, of which they make excellent clothing.[5]

17. Rivers and sea abound with fine fish. The fish called pexemulier[6] is found there. Very valuable rosaries are made of its bones, because of the great virtue residing in them against hemorrhages; one which has been tested by experience is worth many ducados. Licentiate Francisco Roca, the cura of that place, related to me what happened in his district—a very notable case. An Indian who went to fish every day found near the water a pexemulier, which is said to resemble a woman from the breasts down. He had regular intercourse with this creature, and continued that bestial concubinage daily for more than six months without losing a single day in that communication. After that time God touched his heart, and constrained him to confess. He confessed, and was ordered not to go to that place any more; he obeyed, and ceased that abomination. I avow that if I myself had not heard it from the above [cura], I would have doubted its truth exceedingly.

18. On the afternoon of the next day, we (the cura, the alcalde-mayor, and I) set out in three boats for another curacy, namely, the one to which I was going. All three had to be reconciled, because of some slight differences that had preceded, and for that reason the voyage was made. The cura entertained us royally and we embraced and became good friends, and the feast was ended with a grand banquet which he gave us. It is not going to excess to add somewhat more than usual in such great occasions and feasts.... The truth is there was no wine, but only plenty of good water. In a few days I went out to the visitas, which were numerous and distant one from another. Having passed the first, I turned inland in order to cut off a large cape which extended far into the sea from a mountain. The crossing was thickly overgrown with trees, so high that one could not see the sky at all for two leguas. The leeches were so numerous that we could not estimate them. On reaching the sea I crossed a rivulet on the shoulders of an Indian, who carried his spear in his hand. Half-way over he descried a fine ray-fish; he threw his spear, and nailed it to the sand. When he had carried me over, he returned and got that fish, dragging it along through the water. The Indian told me what fine food its liver was, and they cooked it for me, and truly it is a fine delicacy. I mentioned that in Roma in the year 73, and it so struck the fancy [of those who heard me] that some of them were anxious to secure that dainty. I did not know at that time the great virtue of the spine or claw at the point of the tail of that fish. It is an admirable remedy against toothache, and if the teeth be merely rubbed with that claw the pain leaves them; however, it must be cut off while the fish is alive.

19. I went to celebrate Holy Week in a small village whose little church was located in the most pleasant and agreeable place that can be found anywhere. It lay three leguas from the sea, and one ascended thither by a fine and full-flowing river, which has a bed one legua wide during the rainy season. Near that river is a low-lying mountain which resembles a pleasant garden. At the south it has the most beautiful cocoa-palms; on the east and north it is covered with cacasuchiles full of flowers, which are beguiling to the sight and smell; to the east one sees very lofty mountains, which are very sightly. Round about it was a hedge of tall maguey,[7] and in the middle of that stood the house and church. The village site, on the north side, and on the south, where the river flowed, was very steep, and had a fine spring at the foot. The means of approach to the village were suitably hidden, for safety from the hostile Camucones. Indians of other villages assembled there; all confessed and communed, and some were baptized. Two things in especial happened to me there. One was a confession that covered thirty years. Truly that Indian confessed remarkably well, and had a very fine understanding. The other was that of a woman already of marriageable age and of excellent mind. She said to me: “Father, I went to the mountain with a youth, and we lived there as if we were married for six years.” (There is no lack of food in the mountains without any work.) “One night, as often before, we went to sleep upon the grass. At dawn I awoke, raised myself up to look at him, and beheld him dead at my side. So great was my fear on beholding that that I immediately descended to the village with the determination to confess and change my life. I have found an occasion when the father is here, and I wish to make use of it.” I counseled her as to what she would better do, and told her to be ever mindful of the mercy that God had shown her. Literally was the remark of God verified in this case, namely, that “two shall be sleeping, and one shall be taken and the other left.”[8] The poor wretched youth suddenly attacked by death would run enough risk if one thought of the time and occasion when he was summoned.

We practiced all the ceremonies of the church from Palm Sunday to the day of the Resurrection. They had their altar; the chief of the village gave all the wax that was used on it. I remember that, when the mandato[9] was being preached, the good old man was softened, and suddenly kneeled down, weeping and sobbing. That devotion drew tears from me and the rest, and with them was the sermon finished.

20. All of those people are, as villagers of the mountain regions, sincere, and without a bit of malice. They attend church with great devotion, and no word is spoken to them that does not fructify; therefore the gospel will continually spread among them. But there they are held by a mass every two or three years; those who die remain dead; and immediately the cura takes great care in collecting the tribute from them, and the personal services and fees.

21. One of the great conveniences for the Indians in having religious in their districts is that, since the latter are changed every little while, if the Indian who is cowardly is afraid to confess to one, or has had a quarrel with him, he unbosoms himself to the other, and confesses well and freely to him. But if he once exhibits fear of the cura, or the cura gets angry at him, it is very difficult for him to show clearly what is in his breast when he goes to confess. He who made the confession to me that covered the thirty years had been silent about some matters, through fear and terror. This point is worthy of consideration. The fathers of the Society had been in that island in previous years; and they had four missionaries there, who labored very earnestly. The seculars to whom it belonged before went to law with them. It was returned to the seculars, and only one cura is stationed there to administer what was administered by the four religious. Already one can see what must become of it. This is to seek Quæ sua sunt, non quæ Jesu Christi.[10] There were visitas where the cura had not set foot for fourteen years.

22. On the day of the Resurrection, after the mass, and after the mystery had been explained to the people, and some rice, potatoes, eggs, and fruit had been distributed among some poor people who had come to me, I went overland to another village. I slept on the way in the shade of some trees. There I encountered an infidel from the mountains, who had an excellent disposition. I showed him many kindnesses, but since no inclinations [toward the faith] had preceded, they availed but little. Next day I lodged in the house of another infidel, who treated me very well. These Indians and thousands of others do not become baptized because they fear the tribute and personal services, as I have already observed in another place.

23. We arrived at the village of Santiago, which has a very poor climate, and is much exposed to the attacks of the hostile Camucones. The year before, some of them had been captured; and one of them said to me: “Father, my wife was giving birth to a child in this house, when the enemies arrived. I jumped through that window and some followed me. The others, especially the women who were in my house, were captured. They were taken along that path, and my wife, being weak and exhausted, could not walk. To make her go forward they kept striking her with clubs, and I watched it from behind here, quite powerless to aid her. She was carrying the newborn infant on one arm, and while there those men cleft it in twain from its head down with a catan and left it there.” O barbarous cruelty! All that saddened my heart, and fear would not allow me to sleep, and daily I found my health getting worse. I said to the Indians that we should go to another place which was more healthful and safe, and they agreed to it. In a short time they built a chapel there and a little house for me. They built huts in their own manner for themselves, which are sufficient to protect them from the air and the rains. Cold there is not, but the heat is excessive.

24. One of the Chinese boats which was en route to Manila by way of that island stopped there. The Chinaman, named Gote, told me how he had outwitted six hostile boats by a trick and his boldness. His boat carried a father of the Society, and one Spaniard. Seeing that the enemy were about to attack him, he anticipated them. He ran up his flag, sounded his gongs, summoning and inviting them to fight and made for them. The enemy got together to take counsel, and the result was that they fled. The Chinaman told me, in his broken Spanish: “Those people neither saw nor knew what I was carrying in my boat. They also fear death. Had I fled, without doubt I would have been killed. Was it not better then to attack? They must have thought or suspected that I had arms; for who would risk his own life?” On the day of St. Philip and St. James I was in great tribulation. I was confessing in the chapel. I noticed that the seat in which I was seated, which was of bamboo, was shaking. I imagined that some dog was under it, and asked the Indian to drive it away from there. He answered: “No, Father, it is not a dog, but an earthquake.” It increased in violence so much that, abandoning my penitent, I knelt down and begged God for mercy. I thought that surely the end of the world was come. I have seen many earthquakes, but none so severe as that. At the close I said: “If that earthquake has been as violent in Manila, not one stone has remained upon another.” I learned afterward that it had caused some damage, although it was not great. The distance thence to Manila is very nearly one hundred leguas and there is a goodly stretch of water in between.

25. During those days I gave instruction and confession and administered the communion to all. There were no adults to baptize, but there were children. As the heat increased, together with the danger of the enemy and my lack of health, I resolved to return, although not a little sorry to leave two more visitas, twenty leguas from that place. I reached Nanhoan by passing again through the same villages by which I had come. During that voyage I observed that, having ascended a river and told the Indians to prepare me a place wherein to say mass and another in which to sleep that night, they made the whole thing in two hours, by making a covering above that place with only the leaves of the wild palm. That night a very heavy shower fell, but not a single drop leaked inside the shelter. Then and on many other occasions I have noticed that each leaf was so large that an Indian carried it by dragging it; and since they are fan-shaped, and have channels, and are strong, they could withstand as much rain as might fall. In another village an incident happened that caused the Indians great fear, and myself not a little wonder. The Indians were down at the shore, mending the boat in which I was going to embark, when suddenly a well-known fish came out of the water, which we call picuda,[11] and the Portuguese vicuda. It seized an Indian so firmly by the instep that it began to drag him into the sea. His companions hastened to his rescue and made the fish loose its prey by means of clubs and stones, and return to the water. They brought the young fellow to me wounded. He confessed, and was very sick. He recovered his health afterward, but was lame in that foot. Those men were astonished, for they had never seen or heard that that fish went ashore, and much less that it attacked men.

26. There is a fine lake near Nanhoan[12] which is so full of fish, especially skates, that one can sometimes catch them with the hands, take out the eggs and let the fish go. If those eggs be salted, they make a fine accompaniment for rice and are considered a dainty. While I was there an Indian woman came to bathe, but she remained behind in the teeth of a crocodile. I left for Manila, and a chief and his son with four Indians set out from the southern side. The enemy met them and, although they resisted, they were captured and taken prisoners to Mindanao. The Lord delivered me and those with me. I passed the bay of Batangas and went round by way of the lake of Lombon,[13] which is very beautiful. From Manila, where I remained several days, I went to Batam, where I suffered the greatest discomforts and uneasiness from witches or goblins. We do not know what it was, but the result showed that it was a work of the devil. Considerable danger to any man was not experienced, but we heard rumblings and noises, and stones were thrown. The house became dirty in an instant, and was clean again as quickly. Chairs were overthrown with great swiftness, and we could not see who moved them; and such things as that did we see with our eyes. We passed whole nights without sleeping.

27. One of those nights another [disturbance occurred]; when I had already retired, and the noise was somewhat silenced, the fiscal and governor and some other Indians came into the sleeping-room to see whether they could discover anything. They were advancing very courageously and threatening with punishment those persons who were disturbing the house; but they had no sooner entered than a stairway fell down upon them, showering them with a mass of stones, sand, and mud. They were so scared that they never returned to make another examination. I was summoned to Manila, whereupon I was delivered from that most vexatious trouble, which had continued for months; and others had much to suffer and endure.

CHAPTER VI

Of my second mission to Mindoro

1. I entered the college of Santo Thomàs for the third time, and that time it was to teach the morning classes in theology. The last of April of the following year, the archbishop assigned Don Christoval Sarmiento, cura of Nuestra Señora de Guia, as visitor of Mindoro. He asked me to go in his company, and he did not have to beg me urgently, for the air at the college was very bad for me. The father provincial gave his consent, and, having taken one of my pupils as associate, we all went up-stream together, and then crossed over to the sea; and, on the day of the Cross in May, I preached in Bacò. The devotion of the Indians to the cross is very remarkable; they venerate and celebrate it to the greatest degree imaginable. There is no Indian village which is not full of crosses, and the Indians set up and fix them with great neatness. As we entered the first visita on our way up-stream, we were overtaken by a furious storm, and passed a miserable night indeed in the boat, which was very small. For the second time we crossed over the mountain of the leeches, with great suffering. I had left the second visita until my return. A chief asked me to confess him, but I told him to wait a few days until my return, when I would have plenty of time. He insisted and begged me to hear him confess. I did so, and when I returned he was already dead. I considered that it was the result of his predestination. I remember that he confessed very well and with great tenderness of heart.

2. I reached the village with the beautiful location of which I have already written. But since the Camucones had in the preceding year captured the chief of it on his leaving Nanhoan, I found it changed now and all the people sad and disconsolate. I talked with his wife, who was in mourning, and confessed her. Before I had confessed her, it is true that she had never uncovered her face. Such sedateness and modesty as this is observed by many Indian women, even by villagers. I consoled her as well as I could. In another village before we reached that of Santiago, many Indians were assembled; we remained there for a considerable time. I noted there that the dogs barked excessively during the night, and, as it was a dangerous place on account of the Camucones, that caused some anxiety. I asked the Indians the reason for so much barking. They answered: “Father, there are many crocodiles in this river. When the dogs wish to cross over to the other side they gather in one spot and bark for a long time until they believe that the crocodiles have collected there (for it is a fact that is well known that crocodiles look for dogs as cats do for rats); and then, some of the dogs running above and some below, they cross over safe and secure from the crocodiles. That happens nightly, and consequently, there is no [cause for] anxiety when they are heard to bark.” I wondered, and I remembered that I had read that the dogs of the Nile region do the same thing.

3. On one of those days a spy of the enemy came to us, who beguiled us with a thousand idle stories. When we began to discover somewhat of his purpose, it was impossible to find him. An Indian soon came from the other visitas with the news that ten hostile caracoas were sailing for that place. The Indians took to the mountains immediately, and we were left alone with our servants. On receiving that bad news, we determined to return, grieving deeply at seeing the impediments that were unexpectedly arising to prevent our mission to the most needy villages. While returning, I heard of many skirmishes that the Indians had had with the Camucones, but the former always came off the worse. Before reaching Manila, we heard that the ship “San Diego” which arrived from Mexico with Don Pedro de Villarroel as commander, had been wrecked at Balaian. I heard the commander Don Pedro de Mendiola say that that ship had cost his Majesty more than two hundred thousand pesos. That was the famous “San Diego” which was used as a fort when the Dutch attacked Manila. All the Dutch ships discharged their artillery at it, and it received them all on one side, for it was beached. More than one thousand balls were found, and of the two thousand that were fired at it, not one passed through it. The timber of that country is uncommonly good, as is also the strength with which the ships are built. The ship which went to Acapulco that year suffered violent storms, and one huge sea carried off fourteen sailors, according to a letter that I saw. Those of the ship afterward affirmed the same thing, and they also said that when the wave that carried the men off subsided it had thrown them again into the waist of the ship, which was a piece of marvelous good fortune. He who has traveled even a little by water will have no difficulty in seeing how this could be. Years before, the sailors in Cavite say, another sea, which had broken upon a ship when making the same voyage, had dragged off thirty-six men; a great wave that. Some few were saved, but the others were buried in the waters. When Don Pedro de Villarroel returned, he who is now the archbishop of Manila, Don Fray Juan Lopez, wrote me that a heavy sea had completely torn away the stern gallery. I had seen the ship before, and it was so staunch that it seems incredible that a wave should do such damage. At that time one would believe that some spirit stood in Mariveles with a cutlass in his hand, forbidding the entrance of any ship into the bay. Thus did I preach in the port of Cavite. The ship which Don Diego Faxardo had built in Camboxa came near there, and was wrecked on the Japanese shoals, where some persons of quality were drowned. After it left Mexico under command of Lorenco de Ugalde, while it was in a river, so furious a storm struck it that whatever of the ship was above water was cut away and driven ashore; and some men were flung against the masts to which they remained clinging, where they were afterwards found, to the surprise [of their rescuers]. Considerable money was lost and considerable was stolen. It was told in Manila, as a positive fact, that the commander had obtained from cards alone twelve thousand pesos between Acapulco and that place. Who would believe such a thing here? In Pangasinan there were thunder, lightning, and earthquakes; and rocks fell, and stones so large that they weighed five arrobas. Bishop Cardenas wrote about that to the governor and Audiencia, and added that he himself had seen some of the above-mentioned stones. It was inferred that the stones had come from some volcano, but no one ever heard where they had come from.

3 [sic]. The loss of so many ships caused us great sadness of heart. The greatest hardship fell to the Indians, for they cannot live without ships. When one is lost it is necessary to build another, and that means the cutting of wood. Six or eight thousand Indians are assembled for that task, and go to the mountains. On them falls the vast labor of cutting and dragging the timber in. To that must be added the blows that are rained down upon them, and the poor pay, and bad nourishment that they receive. At times, religious are sent to protect and defend them from the infernal fury of some Spaniards. Moreover, in the timber collected for one ship there is [actually enough] for two ships. Many gain advantage at the cost of the Indians’ sweat, and later others make a profit in Cavite, as I have seen.

Map of Manila and its suburbs

[From MS. (dated 1671) in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla]

4. Before leaving Manila, it will be apropos to say something of that island. I shall say nothing particular of the islands of Oton, Iloilo, Zibu, Marinduque, Romblon, Caraga,[14] Calamianes, and others (all of which belong to our king, are inhabited by Indians, and are administered by religious or curas), for I was not in them. I know that they abound in rice, the larger cattle, wax, cotton, and the common fruits. But, as remarked, I do not know the details from experience. Only I am certain that the nests built by the swallows from the sea foam, on the crags near the shores, are valued highly, and are very delicious. When cooked with meat, they are a marvel and contain much nourishment. They are given as presents in Manila. Those which are carried to China are worth many ducados, as I wrote. They are abundant in Calamianes, but I imagine that the same must be true of other islands also; for the Portuguese trade in this commodity in Sian and Camboxa for China. When dry they resemble a little ash-colored earth, but they change appearance after being washed and cooked. There is no doubt that gold is found in all the islands named, in some more than in others. The island of Manila is the largest and most celebrated. It extends from nine or ten degrees south latitude to more than nineteen in the north. From east to west it is very unequal. Manila, which is the capital of all the islands, is near a large river and very near the sea. There reside the governor, four auditors, one fiscal, the archbishop, three royal officials, the alguaçil-mayor of the court, and the municipal corporation with its two alcaldes-in-ordinary, regidors, and alguaçil mayor. The old cathedral was overthrown by the great earthquake of St. Andrew’s [day] of 46. Another was built later, but it was not finished in my time. There is a very spacious and beautiful royal chapel and the convents of St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. Augustine, the Society [of Jesus], St. Nicolas [i.e., the Recollect convent], Santa Clara, and St. John of God; besides two colleges—ours of Santo Thomas, which is a university incorporated, and affiliated with that of Mexico; and that of San Joseph, of the Society of Jesus. There is a fine royal hospital; a church of Santa Potenciana with a house for the shelter of respectable women; and a fine church of the Misericordia with a seminary where many Spanish orphan girls are reared and given dowers for marriage. The best people of Manila look after that seminary. The [post of] head brother of the Misericordia is one of the highest offices in that community. When I had to preach in that church one year, I read the rules professed by that confraternity, and they instructed me in some things. One thing was, that during one of the former years they had distributed in alms alone to the respectable poor thirty-six thousand reals of eight. The city has very fine houses and palaces inside; while outside of it are orchards, gardens, and many baths, which are most necessary for relief from the excessive heat there. The walls, ramparts, cavaliers, covert-ways, and diamond-points which surround the city are as much as can be desired. The site is impregnable in itself, and, even if it were not, the fortifications are sufficient to protect the city. The artillery is heavy and excellent. It is one of the best strongholds that his Majesty owns. Outside its walls it has a Babylon of villages and people on all sides. The river girdles the wall on the north side, and has a fine bridge, which is well garrisoned. As these things are already known, I shall not spend time with them.

5. In their books the Chinese have mentioned the island of Manila, which they call Liu Sung.[15] They say that it is a land where gold abounds, and in that they say truly and rightly. The provinces of Pangasinan and Ilocos are more remarkable in this regard than any other. Rice is abundant and good. There is the rice of forty days, so that it is sown, grows, and is dried, harvested, and eaten in forty days—a very remarkable thing. There is rice of two months, of three, and of five. There are also fine lands for wheat, if there were any system and method in sowing it. If any Indians sow it, it is levied upon in the king’s name; and consequently, the Indians do not devote themselves to that work. In my time, wheat was worth ninety pesos per fanega. If they would sow it in that country, it would be very cheap. The larger cattle are too cheap, so greatly have they multiplied. A large and strong bull is worth four pesos, according to the established price. Goats are not wanting, and there are innumerable deer and very many buffaloes. The males of the buffaloes have been crossed with cows, and the result has been a third and very strange-appearing species. There are ducks, chickens, sugar, wax, and wood that is called here Brazil-wood; there is so much of this that it costs only the cutting. Excellent rattan is found in the greatest abundance, and more than enough cotton to clothe the people of the country. Wines and brandy, made from nipa and other materials, are not wanting, nor people to drink them. There are many delicious fruits. The guayava,[16] which has spread so fast that it is destroying the pasturage, is the finest [kind of fruit]—raw, cooked, prepared in preserves, and in jelly; it is good in all forms. The reason why it has multiplied to such an extent is that crows and birds eat of it and afterward drop the stones to the ground, and wherever the latter fall they take root. The Portuguese told me that the sandalwood of the island of Timor had increased in that way, without any other labor, as I have already written. That tree also bears a small fruit which the birds eat, and whose stones they reject which immediately take root without any other cultivation being necessary. There are macupas, bilimbins, pahos, santols, and papaws,[17] any of which can compete with the best fruit here. There is also the nangca,[18] which is the best fruit in the world. Some of them weigh over forty libras. They are delicious, and the nuts or seeds which each mouthful encloses in itself are very savory, raw or roasted. This fruit grows on the trunk of the tree, and on the large branches, but not on the small ones, as it would be impossible for their weight to be borne there. That tree has no flower. Father Kirquero[19] greatly admired that fruit, and the fruit of the pineapple (or ananasses, as the Portuguese call them). He says that they have those fruits in China, but he was deceived in that regard; they grow in that part of the world, but not in China. The Portuguese praise the ananasses of Malaca highly. They are good, and without doubt there is but little difference between them and those of Manila; even those which I ate in Nueva España seemed just like them. The small sapota and black sapotas, which are numerous and good, grow there.[20] There are found, above all, ates,[21] which for odor and taste I consider superior to all the fruits that God has created. There are bananas, seven or eight varieties, some better than others; and the same [may be said] of oranges. The lemons of Manila are small. Flowers of innumerable varieties are found, and odoriferous herbs in the same way. Sweet basil and sage grow in the plain, so tall and wide-spreading that it is a wonder to see them. There are many palms—cocoa, areca, and other species. The cocoas are the most useful. Before the cocoanut sprouts from the flower-stalk, a precious liquor is extracted which is called tuba by the Indians, and in Eastern India sura. It is distilled at night, and is a delicious and most healthful beverage by morning. If it be boiled it lasts all day. A fine syrup and excellent honey are made from it, and I have made them. The distillations of the day are made into wine, and also into the finest of vinegar. A fine tow is made from the outside shell of the cocoanut, which is used for the calking of ships and other craft. Excellent ropes and fuses are made of it for all sorts of firearms, which are used by the musketeers and arquebusiers. From the inside shell are made elegant drinking-cups for water and chocolate. The water contained inside the cocoanut is drunk, and, if the cocoanut is tender, it is a very sweet and healthful beverage. The cocoanut is roasted for the sick, and after it settles the said water is drunk and produces excellent results. From the white flesh into which the water is gradually converted, a milk is extracted, with which they cook many of their eatables, among these their rice. An excellent conserve called buchayo by the Indians is made from it. Good oil is also extracted from this nut; and from the residue of that process the natives and creoles make a very savory dish with rice. There remain then the trunk and branches [of the tree], which have many other uses. The bamboos are also very useful. Some of them are as thick as the thigh. Chairs, tables, houses, very large churches, fences about the stockyards, scaffolds for buildings, and innumerable other things are made from them. There is an abundance of fish, fine shellfish, including oysters, iguanas,[22] (which, although they have an infernal shape, are the finest kind of food), and the finest shads and pampanos. In the island of Manila and other islands dependent on it only a little coolness is needed, although there are parts somewhat temperate. For the rest, nothing else is needed than to take care of them. Other persons will secure rich harvests, but his Majesty gets nothing, although private persons gain from all of them. That country has temperatures for all products that are desired—for wheat, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper, and for mulberry trees from which the silkworms are fed. There is considerable excellent tobacco. Ebony in as great quantities as are desired, and sandalwood (although it is not fine) are also found in the mountains. Precious stones called bezoars are found in deer; I saw a very fine one, valued, it was said, at many ducados. A deer had been struck with a harpoon, which remained in the deer’s body while the animal still lived. After some time the deer was killed, and the harpoon was found in its proper shape all covered with bezoar. One point was broken off, and in that way the head was laid bare, to the wonder of all who saw it. As arrowheads are poisoned, it was said that that stone, as it had prevented the poison of the said harpoon, must be a marvelous antidote against all poisons. I forgot to consider the fertility of the land of Manila. It suffices to say that six short leguas from that city there are certain lands, called Tunacan,[23] which yield one hundred and thirty fanegas of rice to one fanega sown in them.[24] That appears to me to be as much as can be desired.

6. Other minor matters pertaining to Manila were overlooked by me, which it is not proper to bury in silence. One is of a seminary for boys, called San Juan de Letran. It was founded by a religious, a lay-brother of my order, one Fray Diego de Santa Maria.[25] In my time it had more than two hundred boys, and was of great benefit to those islands. The way in which the boys were managed was inimitable in any other seminary. They were taught reading, writing, grammar, and music there. Those who studied the arts and theology went to our college. They were given two suits of clothes per year, and received religious instruction. In the morning, before breakfast, they recited aloud in chorus one-third of the rosary, at noon another third, and at evening the remaining third, and the salve chanted with the litany of our Lady; and at midnight of important feasts, the matins. While they were eating at dinner and supper one of them read at the table. They confessed and took communion every month, and were punished or rewarded. Some of those boys became soldiers, some secular priests, and some took the habit in the convents of St. Francis, St. Augustine, and St. Dominic, so that the seminary was a general camp of soldiers, both temporal and spiritual. An encomienda was obtained from his Majesty to aid in their support. Alms were obtained from burials[26] and also from the Indians. It is certainly a heroic work. I am told that they have been taken inside the city now, and the most influential religious of the province live there, and, during these later years, those who have been provincials of the order.

7. All of us in this country see another very peculiar thing—namely, that although the city is small, and the Spaniards few in number, yet thousands of Chinese, mestizos, and natives are maintained for their service, so that there are about two hundred Chinese carpenters in the Parián, beside those of the other trades, and all of them are always employed in Manila by the Spaniards. There are about two hundred Chinese and mestizo barbers, all of whom live on the Spaniards; and others in the same proportion. Outside the walls there is a famous hospital for the natives, which is well taken care of by the Franciscan fathers who have charge of it. Opposite the fortress of San Gabriel lies our charge, namely, the care of the Chinese. There one finds a Chinese physician, Chinese medicines, a religious who understands the Chinese language, a nurse, and servants who have charge of everything. Rarely does one die without baptism, and many of them show abundant signs of salvation. All the neighborhood of Manila, except the part that borders on the sea, is filled with villages and churches—that of the Parián being ours, where there is always a religious who knows the Chinese language. Dilao is a village of Japanese, and has a Franciscan religious. The parish church of Santiago is for Spaniards who live outside the walls; also that of Nuestra Señora de Guia, which has a very miraculous image. Our image of the Rosary is most miraculous, and it is the consolation of all the city and of the islands. It is said that they have made imperial crowns for the Son and the Mother, even more precious than those which I said were possessed by our Lady of the Rosary and her Blessed Son in Mexico. The Recollect fathers of our father St. Augustine have [an image], an Ecce Homo, which excites devotion most powerfully, and has been taken to the hearts of all people. It was placed in position amid great rejoicing and imposing ceremonies, shortly after the arrival of Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara—who took part therein very fervently, and who went to hear mass in that sanctuary every Friday throughout the year.

8. Some influential persons of the city died during those years. Among them were Don Francisco Diaz de Mendoça, noble, virtuous, and beloved by all; the commander Don Pedro de Mendiola, a fine soldier and very gentlemanly, who was governor of Terrenate and castellan of Cavite, and held other important posts; Sargento-mayor Navarro, or, as he was otherwise called, “the just judge” (his father-in-law, Diego Enriquez de Losada, a man of well-known virtue, was drowned in the Camboxa ship). Of the secular priests died the two best bonnets[27] that those islands have had, namely, Don Juan de Ledo and Don Alonso Zapata, both dignidades of the cathedral and doctors of our university, and notable in teaching and in the pulpit. I believe that no one of the dignidades of my time is still living.

9. The members of the Audiencia of that time were Don Sebastian Cavallero de Medina, a creole of Mexico; Don Albaro Fernandez de Ocampo, a native of Madrid; Don Francisco Samaniego y Ivesta, a Montañes; and Don Salvador de Espinosa, a creole of Vera-Cruz; and the fiscal, Don N. de Bolivar. All showed me many favors. I have dedicated conclusions[28] to the second and third, and others afterward also to Don Sabiniano who was present in the royal Audiencia. [Then there were] the master-of-camp, Don Pedro de Almonte, and the sargento-mayor, Don Martin de Ocadiz, who had gone as commandant of the relief sent that year to Terrenate. The commissary of the Holy Office was father Fray Francisco de Paula, who had been provincial, and filled that office for the second time afterward, a man of great influence in all things. At that time, then, I resolved to leave the islands.

10. A very holy and Catholic action that occurred in Manila during the preceding years had slipped my memory; it is very proper that it be known by all, and venerated and applauded by the sons of the Church. When the Catholics were exiled from Japon, they went, as is known, to Manila. The welcome, good treatment, kindnesses, and presents that were showered upon those confessors of Jesus Christ cannot be imagined; the people tried to outdo one another in showing their piety. Not a few sick and leprous persons arrived, and yet was charity so great that they were taken into the houses to be treated; and those who obtained some of them even considered themselves fortunate. They were regarded as saints, and were esteemed a great reliquary of inestimable value. Governor, auditors, citizens, religious, and soldiers engaged in a scuffle,[29] in common phrase, in order to secure a Japanese whether well or sick. No doubt that caused great edification among the heathen people from China, who were watching everything. Although the Chinese see and notice our faults, on that occasion they experienced the marvelous effects of our holy law. To have there such and so many witnesses must have made them see that our conduct and mode of living was such that they would recognize it here and glorify our God and Lord.... I heard later that some of the people in Europa did not act so kindly to the exiles from Irlanda....

CHAPTER VII

Of the departure from Manila, and the voyage to Macasar

1. Don Sabiniano Manrique was governing to the satisfaction of the community. No governor in the world has ever kept all the people satisfied, or ever will. However, some restless fellows were not wanting, a thing that no human prudence can avoid. But it is a very strong argument for his good government that the commander Don Francisco Enriquez de Losada wrote in the year sixty-six (and I have his letter in my possession) that all the people, and especially the religious, were calling for Don Sabiniano. I never heard that they cried out for others. This is most sufficient testimony for the praise and credit of that illustrious gentleman. Although his Lordship had given me his word to provide me with quarters in the ship which was going to Acapulco that year, the terror that reigned in my soul at the thought of passing those seas, and other things, induced me to take passage with my old friend, the commander Christoval Romero. All my viaticum and supplies resolved themselves into sixty reals of eight, four tunics, and two habits, that I might travel more lightly and unimpeded. I left my cloak with a friend, and went without that and other things No voyage by water can be assured, even if only for a few leguas; and it is folly to appoint it for fixed days.

2. We set sail on the fourteenth of February, and I confess that I was soon depressed, and feared that the voyage would turn out ill; for the seamen, who in accordance with all good reasoning ought to live with greater discretion and fear, commenced to go astray. The east winds were blustering by that time, but to us it appeared that they had shut themselves up in their secret treasuries. We reached Zamboanga March six, where we met the relief ship that was en route to Terrenate. It had taken on rice and meat at Oton, and their commandant was already dead. At seven o’clock at night we continued our journey, and in a sudden squall the sail swept our best sailor into the sea, and he stayed there. That misfortune increased my terrors. During our crossing to the island of Macasar, a distance of sixty leguas, the storms were furious; the waves the most terrible ever seen; the samatras most powerful, although of short duration; and, above all, pilots were unreliable. One morning we awoke to find ourselves among some rugged cliffs and huge rocks; I know not how that boat got among them without being dashed to pieces. We escaped out of that danger, to fall into greater ones. In four or five days we found the weather very clear until half-past eleven o’clock; but when we went to take [observations of] the sun the sky would be darkened and covered with clouds, and we with gloom. The shore was on our left hand—at a distance of about two leguas at times, as we found out afterward; but it was so covered with clouds that we could not descry it. We proceeded for one day with a most favoring wind and weather straight toward our objective point. Our people fancied that it was an immense bay, and seeing land to the north, went thither in that mistaken belief. The current opposed us so powerfully that, the wind having freshened considerably, we could not gain a palmo of land. As we then were, we should have reached Macasar in one week; but my sins were the reason why we did not arrive until the following October. To reach that land, we placed ourselves in the care of God and fortune. On Holy Saturday, (the last of March) when we tried to cast anchor we felt the boat ground upon some shoals. I cannot describe the confusion that arose, and what I saw and suffered. All cried out “Lower the sails!” but no one attempted to lower them. I got into a corner to commend myself to God, for I thought that the end had come. The sea went down, and we saw that we were surrounded by sandbanks and shoals, except for the channel, through which we had sailed under the guidance of God. The stern was in fourteen brazas and the bow was hard and fast. We worked more than half the night; and, luckily for us, the weather was clear and calm. The sea rose, and, with the tow-ropes that were cast out and the other efforts that were made, the ship was set afloat without having sprung a leak. At dawn we set sail once more. O! what a sad Easter was ours! Our supplies were daily diminishing, and the perplexity in which we were was increasing hourly. In fine, after a week we found ourselves embayed, and could find no outlet into the sea. Small boats were plying to and fro in that region. They took us for pirates, and we took them for robbers, so that we fled from each other without finding any way of getting light on the place where we were. We had already found by the sun that we were lost, for we were two degrees in north latitude, which did not accord with our sailing directions. We spent another week in getting out of that bay. We saw clearly the land of the other side, and as we had good weather to cross the commander wished, contrary to the opinion of all, to remain and to anchor until next day. As we were eating he said to us: “All oppose me. Is not your Reverence of my opinion that we should cross on Saturday morning?” I answered “Sir, the best time for crossing is when God gives us a good wind.” He was silent, but stuck to his opinion. At three in the afternoon on the second day of the crossing, on the eve of St. Mark, so strong a southwester arose, that it was necessary to run before the wind, near shore, without knowing of the shoals that were there. That was one of the most wretched nights that I have passed on sea. The mainsail was torn into shreds, the yard was broken, the foremast was snapped off, and the rod of the steering-gear was broken. We all went into the cabin, and recited the rosary and the litanies of our Lady, waiting for what God was going to do with us. All had already confessed. After midnight, being worn out, I fell asleep in a little corner. When I awakened, the wind had ceased, but the dead seas troubled us greatly. We saw land near us, and certain landmarks were recognized, by which we were not a little consoled. We had been one and one-half months in that region. We there encountered the island called Diablo [i.e., Devil’s Island], and we could have entered the kingdom of Totole, if our courage had not failed us. The commander resolved to turn back and go to the kingdom of Bohol,[30] in order to lay in fresh supplies. The journey was half over when the wind veered to the bow, and we again ran before it. Thus did we plow through that sea. We returned the second time to Bohol. We were all but gone, and it was my counsel to return. The commander said: “Father, some angel spoke through your Reverence’s lips; for it is a foregone conclusion that we would perish if the furious wind which arose had taken us where we were the day before.” Some things were purchased. We carried thence an Indian from Manila, now half Moroized, who afterward proved a great consolation to us, as he was most experienced on that coast. On Corpus Christi day we anchored near Totole, where we found Captain Navarro, who was also going to Macasar in another champan. We were very joyful at that, although our joy was short-lived. By the variation of time during the voyage which is made through Eastern India, it is well known that twelve hours are gained, while a like time is lost in our Indias. From Terrenate to India the reckoning of the Portuguese is observed. According to our reckoning, we reached that place on Corpus Christi day (a Thursday) which those who were en route from Terrenate reckoned as Friday; so that we had eaten flesh at noon, and at night when we were in the port we ate fish. We lost that day, as well as the following one, which was Saturday—so that, if we had anchored at midnight, we would properly have had a week without any Friday, and only five days long. As for the divine office, although I was not under obligation to recite all the prayers for Friday, I recited, since I had time and to spare, those for Thursday and those for Friday on the very day of Corpus Christi.

3. We bought a quantity of sago[31] there, called by the Indians in Manila yoro. It is the heart of certain palm-trees; when soaked, it makes a yellow meal (properly it looks like yellow sand). Certain cakes are made from it which serve that people in lieu of bread; we lived on it for six months. Although it is a good food for Europeans, at times it fails to satisfy the hunger. Sometimes it seemed insipid food, but at others it tasted good. That tree is so flexible that it is never cut although it may be more than one vara in circumference. In Manila the Indians eat this food in time of need. That caused us considerable pity when we saw it, for really it is only pounded wood; but then it seemed to us to be a great dainty. That site [i.e., Totole] lay in a trifle over one degree north latitude. From ten until two the sun beat down fiercely, but, at that hour, a heavy shower fell every day, and there were terrible thunders and heavy winds that cooled off everything; and the nights were so cool that we had to put on heavy clothing.

4. Captain Navarro and the commander agreed between themselves to winter there. Our anger at that was great. Two other passengers and I tried to buy a boat from the king and to go away in it. Having made the agreement and paid the money, the king went back on his bargain, and kept more than one-half of the sum paid. He was a great rogue, although he treated me with much honor, and always seated me near himself. Some very ridiculous things happened to me with him. His palace was a little hut of bamboos and straw; but he bore himself there with an incredible majesty, and all who spoke to him prostrated themselves on the ground. He gave us a banquet, in which he offered us some sago cakes, and some very small fish cooked without a particle of salt. The prince died there, and I confess that I was astonished at the burial. The king and queen went to his funeral, the king with wooden shoes and the queen barefoot. When they returned, as the queen was going up to her house, a female servant washed her feet on the ladder. For twenty-four hours, some swivel-guns which stood at the palace door were fired every half hour. The king went into retreat, and would not grant audience for many days. He made an auction of all his possessions, in order to express his grief; but no one dared buy anything. We noted a very extraordinary thing there, namely, that the majority of those people did not care for silver. If we showed them an eight-real piece and a single real, they preferred the single real to the eight-real piece. As long as the single reals lasted we lived cheaply, but when we ran out of them, they refused to give us as much for an eight-real piece as they had given us for a single real. We suffered great hunger. One day I went to the beach, and encountered a negro cook of the commander, who was cooking some fish. I asked him to give me one or two of them, but he replied: “Father, they have been counted.” “Then for the love of God, will you give me at least a little of that hot water?” “Yes,” he said, “I will give you that.” I went up along the beach, where I found a dirty half of a cocoanut-shell, deeply encrusted with sand; I washed it with my hands and got my hot water in it. I put into it a half-crust of dry sago (even though it remain a whole day in water, the water will not penetrate it), and I managed to eat some mouthfuls of it, although it was very hard on my teeth, and drank my hot water. With that, I was content to take a bit of exercise, and to finish with prayer what was lacking to me [for my meal].

5. When the tide went down, the seamen went to catch shellfish on the reefs which were exposed. They caught curious kinds of snails, toads, and snakes of a thousand forms and shapes. Everything tasted good, and we grew fat. I reached such a state that I stole sago, when I got a chance and could do it secretly. Many times I asked what dainties were more necessary than a little rice boiled in water. In Manila I observed very strictly the rules laid down by the physicians that I should not eat butter, or this or that; but during the voyage I ate such things, that I know not how I lived. Qui dat nivem sicut lanam[32] applies here. We left Totole on the first of August. Those cruel men put us all in great risk of losing our lives; four of us had already died, and others of us were sick. I noted one very curious thing, namely, that a poor negro, who had embarked only to beg alms in Macasar, began the voyage so weak that he could not stand upright. Yet all that hardship and misery (in which he had the greatest share) cured him completely; and he fattened so much that he did not appear to be the same man. At sunset of the day of our father St. Dominic, we crossed the line and entered south latitude. The line crosses two islands, called Dos Hermanas [i.e., Two Sisters]. The wind blew so cold off shore that we all wrapped ourselves in all the clothes that we had. In Europa, in more than 50 degrees north latitude, men were burning with the heat at that time, while we under the line were shivering with cold. Who can understand that philosophy?... Two days after, we reached the kingdom of Caile,[33] which lies in one and one-half degrees south latitude. It has an admirable bay, more than three leguas long and two wide. As soon as we had anchored, a Manila Indian came to us, one Juan de la Cruz. He read very devoutly, and had his rosary about his neck. I ransomed him for twenty pesos and took him to Macasar, where he proved to be a great rogue. He told us that there were two Portuguese there, and we went immediately to see them. On the way, we visited a petty king who regaled us on cocoanuts. Captain Navarro asked for some water to drink. The queen said that there was none in the house, and the king in anger ordered them to go for some immediately. On hearing that, the queen went out of her apartment instantly, and having taken a large bamboo went straight to the river (which was near) for water; then she returned and we had our drink. At that place one of the Portuguese overtook us; the other was very sick. We went to his house, where Moros, both men and women, came to see us; and among them, those infernal monsters of men clad in women’s clothes, who are married publicly to other men. Nothing has ever surprised me more than that. The Portuguese told us there that there were men who preferred to marry these [creatures] rather than women. They gave two reasons, one that they look after the welfare of their husbands carefully; the other that they were very diligent and rich, because they alone could be Orives.

6. That is the kingdom where the men and women dress only in paper; and, since it is a material which does not last long, the women are continually working at it with great industry. The material consists of the bark of a small tree,[34] which we saw there. They beat it out with a stone into curious patterns, and make it as they desire, coarse, fine, and most fine; and they dye it in all colors. Twenty paces away, these appear like fine camlets. Much of it is taken to Manila and Macao, where I saw excellent bed-curtains [made of it]; in cold weather they are as good as one can desire. In the rainy season, which is the great enemy of paper, the remedy applied by those people is to undress and put one’s clothes under one’s arm.

7. The men are always busy in making cocoanut oil, of which they sell considerable, and pay much in tribute to the king of Macasar. While we were there, he sent for ninety thousand celemins of oil. The palm-groves in those fields are astonishing. The bananas which that land produces are the best in the world, and innumerable. The natives live on them and sow no rice nor any other kind of seed. We remained in those villages for one week, without eating anything else than bananas or drinking anything else than [the juice of] cocoanuts. They raise buffaloes, goats, and horses, which they sell. When they hold their general assemblies, they eat one or two buffaloes, half raw and half roasted. The villages are excellently arranged, and the council-houses are admirable. The climate is fine, and the people would pay homage to the Spaniards very willingly, as we were told there, merely to be freed from the tyrannical dominion of the king of Macasar.

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. [↑]

[5] See list of Philippine fiber plants in Official Handbook of the Philippines (Manila, 1903), part i, pp. 328–339; also list of fruits and vegetables, pp. 296–328. Both the scientific and the native vernacular names are given, with valuable notes on many plants and trees. [↑]

[6] Literally, “woman fish”—the dugong (VOL. XXIX, p. 302). See Delgado’s detailed description of this creature, made from personal examination of it, in Hist. de Filipinas, pp. 910–912; he also mentions the virtue in its bones. [↑]

[7] The maguey or American agave (Agave vivipara) was introduced into the Philippines from America, and is cultivated there to a slight extent. It yields a fiber from which a cloth called nipis is woven. The fiber itself has been exported in bulk to Europe, China, and Japan for many years. See Census of Philippine Islands, iv, p. 120. [↑]

[8] A reference to [Matthew xxiv, 40]: “Then two shall be in the field: one shall be taken, and one shall be left.” [↑]

[9] The ecclesiastical ceremony of washing the feet of twelve persons on Maundy Thursday. [↑]

[10] i.e., “the things that are their own, and not the things that are Jesus Christ’s.” [↑]

[11] The garfish or sea-needle (Belone vulgaris). [↑]

[12] The village and lake of Nauján. The former is located on the Nauján River, about two miles from its mouth in northeastern Mindoro. The lake of Nauján, which is drained by the Adlobang and Nauján rivers, is about 2½ miles inland from the coast, and is about 6×10 miles in size. The water is almost stagnant, and the lake contains many sharks which enter at high tide, while crocodiles are frequent; numerous kaseles, or snake-birds, and other water birds are also to be found there. See U. S. Philippine Gazetteer. [↑]

[13] Misprint for the lake of Bombon. [↑]

[14] Oton and Iloilo are here confused with the island of Panay, and Caraga with that of Mindanao. [↑]

[15] Navarrete says (Tratados, p. 2): “The Chinese traders who crossed over to Manila, when asked who they were and what they desired, answered, Xang Lai; that is, ‘We come to trade and barter.’ The Spaniards, who did not understand the Chinese language, imagined that that was the name of a nation; and united those two words into one, by which until this day they designate the Chinese, calling them Sangleys. In this way we Europeans have corrupted many other words for that part of the world. The Philipinas Islands are called Liù Sung; the Spaniard corrupted the words, and calls them Luzon. The city of Manila is called Mainila, which means ‘marsh’ or ‘mire;’ our people cut out an ‘i,’ and the name became Manila. The island which the natives call Minolo is named Mindoro by the Spaniards, and that of Malindic we call Marinduque.” [↑]

[16] The guayaba or guava (Psidium guayava), well-known and valued in America for its acid fruit, and early introduced thence into the Philippines, where it is known as bayabas. [↑]

[17] The macupa (Eugenio malaccensis—Linn.) is about the size of a sweet pepper and of somewhat the same shape, rather larger and quite red in color, but more lustrous; bitter-sweet in taste, somewhat agreeable, but has no solid flesh which can be eaten. The proper season for the fruit is April, May, and June. The leaves of the tree have medicinal properties. The balimbing (Averrhora carambola—Linn.) has the odor of a quince, and is used by the natives as food with dry fish or meat. There are several varieties, and the flesh is watery. It makes an excellent preserve, and is a good sea food. See Delgado’s Historia, pp. 505, 506, 512; and Census of Philippines, iv, pp. 124–126; also, for the paho, santol, and papaw (papaya), our VOL. XIII, p. 141, note 20, VOL. XVI, p. 87, note 72, and VOL. XXI, p. 144, note 36. [↑]

[18] See VOL. XVI, p. 87, note 72. See also Census of Philippines, p. 125. [↑]

[19] Athanasius Kircher was born near Fulda, Germany, in 1602, and became a Jesuit novice at the age of sixteen. He was for several years a teacher in the Jesuit college at Wurtzburg, but was driven to France (1632) by the war then waging in Germany. Having spent some time at Avignon, he was sent to Rome, where he died on November 27, 1680. He was one of the most illustrious writers in the Jesuit order; see list of his works in Sommervogel’s Bibliothèque, iv, cols. 1046–1077. They embrace a wide range of subjects—science, mathematics, Egyptian hieroglyphics, archæology, etc. The allusion in the text is probably to Kircher’s China monumentis (Rome, 1667). [↑]

[20] The small sapota or chico zapote (Achras sapota—Linn.) was, according to Delgado, peculiar to Nueva España. The tree is tall, wide-spreading, and tufted. Delgado also describes another variety called zapote prieto (Diospyros ebenaster—Retz), of which there are two varieties, one white and one black, which he declares to be natives of Nueva España. The Census of Philippines says, however, that they are natives of China. The fruit resembles a medium-sized apple, and has a green exterior. A pleasant preserve is made of it. See Delgado’s Historia, pp. 517, 518, and Census of Philippines, iv, p. 126. [↑]

[21] Ates (Anona squamosa—Linn.) is a fruit somewhat resembling in appearance a small pineapple. Its exterior is green and the interior white, and it contains many beautiful bright seeds. It is aromatic and delicate in flavor, and mild and pleasant to the taste. It is heating in its effects. Oranges of various indigenous species are found, among them being several wild species—one of the latter, the amumuntay (citrus histrix), being twelve or thirteen inches in circumference and very juicy and bitter. There are seven varieties of lemons, some of superior quality. See Delgado’s Historia, pp. 519, 520, 548–560; Census of Philippines, iv, pp. 124–126; our VOL. V, p. 169, and VOL. XVI, p. 87, note 72. [↑]

[22] The iguana is very abundant in some localities, and sometimes attains a size of five feet, and can swallow fair-sized fowls whole. They are often found on trees or in bushes along the river banks. When disturbed they drop into the water and thus escape. The eggs are considered a great delicacy by the natives, and the flesh of one species, the ibid, ibit, or pelubid, is highly esteemed. See Handbook of the Philippines (Manila, 1903), p. 150. [↑]

[23] Tunasan is in the province of Laguna, which is thus mentioned in the U. S. Philippine Gazetteer (p. 574): “This province is considered the garden of the Philippines. Its soil and climate are adapted to the successful growth of every variety of tropical plant and tree known to the archipelago.” Both mechanical and agricultural industries are considerably developed in Laguna. [↑]

[24] In the irrigated lands of Pangasinán the rice yield is eighty-fold; in dry lands fifty-fold; in highlands of the third class, at least forty- to sixty-fold. The most fertile farm of the Philippines (Imus) has 13,442 hectares devoted to rice cultivation. Its lands of the first class yield one hundred-fold; of the second, seventy-five-fold; and of the third fifty-fold. Other lands in the islands yield from fifteen-fold up. See Census of Philippines, iv, p. 93. [↑]

[25] In the Dominican mission of 1632 came a lay-brother named Fray Diego de Santa María, a son of the convent at Sevilla. Through charity, he sheltered and educated orphan boys, as Fray Geronimo Guerrero (VOL. XXII, p. 109) had done earlier. In 1640 these two enterprises were consolidated, under the auspices of the Dominican order in Manila, and organized into the college of San Juan Letran. Fray Diego remained in charge of it for many years; but finally, having obtained permission to return to Spain, he died on the way, at Acapulco, in 1657. (Reseña biográfica, i, pp. 418, 419.) [↑]

[26] “The boys themselves received ten pesos each for assisting at burials, which were very frequent” (Reseña biográfica, i, p. 420). [↑]

[27] Used here because the secular clergy wear a bonnet, in contradistinction to a friar, who wears a hood or cowl. See Appleton’s New Velázquez Dictionary. [↑]

[28] Theses controverted and defended in the schools. See ut supra. [↑]

[29] Spanish, andauan a la rebatiña—a locution which can hardly find an exact equivalent in English. [↑]

[30] On the northern coast of the island Celebes were two villages named Bool and Tontoli, about twenty (Dutch) miles apart; see Valentyn’s Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien, deel iii, st. ii, p. 134, and map in deel i, facing p. 1. [↑]

[31] The most important starch-producing palm of the Philippines is the buri (Corypha umbraculifera) which gave name to the island of Burias and from which sago is obtained. “It blooms but once, and then perishes” (Blanco). The sago is procured by felling the tree near the root, and taking out the soft interior portion of the trunk, which is placed in casks or troughs and the bitter sap drained off. It is then pounded with paddles or mallets, which separate the starch into fine grains. The starch is then gathered and dried, and converted into flour. A wine is also obtained from the tree. See Census of Philippines, iv, p. 123; also Blanco’s Flora, p. 160; Delgado’s Historia, pp. 660–662; and VOL. XXXIV, p. 154, note 499. [↑]

[32] A reference to [Psalm cxlvii, v. 16]: “[Praise the Lord,] Who giveth snow like wool.” [↑]

[33] Valentyn mentions the village of Cajeli (Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien, deel iii, p. 134 of section on Macasar). Crawfurd describes Kaili as a country on the western side of Celebes. [↑]

[34] Probably the paper mulberry (Brousson etia papyrifera), from which the South Sea islanders make their clothing, using the inner bark. See Crawfurd’s Dict. Ind. Islands, pp. 327, 328. [↑]

[35] On the map in Valentyn’s work, referred to in note 30, ante, appears the village of Mamoia, north of Macasar. [↑]

[36] Mandhar is a district of Celebes, lying between Kaili and Macasar; its people have a language peculiar to themselves, and are among the more civilized peoples of that island. (Crawfurd’s Dictionary, pp. 88, 264.) [↑]

CONDITION OF THE CLERGY OF THE PHILIPPINES

The procurator-general of the Dominicans in Madrid, Fray Pedro Diaz del Cosio, made a representation to the queen-regent in August, 1674, in regard to the condition of the clergy of the islands, because of the almost perpetual vacancies [in the sees] of the archbishop and bishops, and the excessive subjection in which the governors held them, and the harsh treatment accorded them.[1]

He represented that the bishopric of Nueva Caceres had been vacant for about thirty-one years; and that he who had last been presented (on September 30, 1672) had not obtained the bulls from his Holiness.

That the bishopric of Cebu had not had any bishop who was regularly appointed and who took possession, for about nineteen years, when Don Fray Juan Lopez assumed that post in 1666; that the latter had been promoted to the bishopric of Manila; that Don Diego de Aguilar was presented in 1672, a Dominican of the age of sixty years, but had not yet, at that date (1674), obtained the bulls (although he had accepted the dignity)—without doubt, because he was old and lived in Mejico.

That the bishopric of Nueva Segovia had been vacant for about fifteen years, since the death of the last bishop, Don Fray Rodrigo de Cardenas,[2] a Dominican; for he who had then (1674) been presented, namely, Don Jose Poblete, dean of the cabildo of Manila, had not yet obtained the bulls nor his authorization, for lack of money.

That the archbishopric of Manila, the one which had been vacant the least time (since the death of Don Miguel de Poblete in 1668), had been given to Don Fray Juan Lopez, bishop of Cebu, whose bulls could not arrive until 1674—six years of vacancy.

That the governors were interested in having vacancies; for they filled the posts provisionally, and for that reason they were slow in giving information of a vacancy.

That the incomes of the bishops were scant, and were collected at the will of the governors, who paid them poorly, and curtailed them. Therefore arrangements should be made to let the bishops themselves collect their dues from the tributes, as these were paid in.

That the cost of the bulls ought to be paid from the royal treasury.

That appointments ought to be given to persons not over forty years of age.

That they should be given to Dominican friars, who would obtain the bulls without any delay.

That the third part of the income of the vacancies should be given to the persons appointed, in order to pay for the bulls.

That the power of exiling bishops should be taken from the governors and Audiencia.

That three auxiliary bishops should be appointed, who should succeed, according to their seniority, [in case of vacancies] in the archbishopric and bishoprics, and should begin to govern immediately.

The father procurator, Fray Pedro del Cosio, set forth those claims, but no one took any notice of them. The memorial was presented to the Council, October 26, 1674. Having been investigated by the fiscal—whom, as well as the other persons who intervened in it, Father Cosio visited—it was examined in the Council, March 11, 1675, and gave rise to the following resolutions:

That the governors of Filipinas should report promptly to the Council the vacancies of the bishoprics, under penalty of a fine of two thousand pesos.

That the archbishop of Manila should appoint governors ad interim in the vacancies of the three bishoprics of Filipinas; and his Holiness should be petitioned for despatches, so that in such case the ecclesiastical spiritual authority should be exercised by the consecrated bishops left.

That the royal officials of Mejico should remit on separate account what was owing to the archbishop and cabildo of Manila, without the governor and royal officials of Filipinas having any part in it.

That the Audiencia alone could proceed, in accordance with law, against the ecclesiastics, and not the governor by himself alone.

That the archbishop should report the amount of the tithes of the islands, in each of the three bishoprics, in order to erect cathedrals and establish cabildos.

That the royal officials of Manila should report the amount of the third part of the [incomes of the] last vacancies of the bishoprics.

It appears further: That the Council was about to resolve that one-third of the incomes of the vacancies of the bishoprics of Filipinas should belong to the treasury, and another third part should be conceded to the bishops-elect to pay for the bulls. That it was resolved to augment the income of the archbishop to five thousand pesos, and that of the bishops to four thousand pesos. That it was about to petition Roma to lower by one-third the cost of the bulls to the bishops of Filipinas. That the archbishop should punish public scandals of incontinence, both of lewd women and of men living in concubinage. That in the disputes of Don Gerónimo Herrera with the archbishop[3] some matters were determined in favor of the latter.

[1] This document in the Ventura del Arco MSS. is evidently a mere synopsis of the original. [↑]

[2] “In the year 61 the three bishops had died—Don Fray Rodrigo de Cardenas, of Nueva Segovia; Don Fray Antonio de San Gregorio, of Nueva Cazeres; and Doctor Don Juan Velez (a cleric, formerly dean of the holy church of Manila), of Zebú; and the royal decrees for the new incumbents did not reach Manila until the year 65. Therein were proposed the following names: For the diocese of Nueva Segovia, Fray Francisco de Navarro, a discalced Franciscan, who set a most unusual example by refusing so honorable a dignity. For that of Nueva Cazeres, Fray Francisco de la Madre de Dios (or de la Alameda) also a discalced Franciscan; but the royal decree found him dead two years before. For that of Zebú, the most illustrious Don Fray Juan Lopez, who came in this ship ‘San Joseph,’ and had been already consecrated in Mechoacan.” (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, vii, pp. 140, 141.) [↑]

[3] In 1673 arose a controversy between the archbishop, Fray Juan López, and Don Jerónimo de Herrera, the chief chaplain of the royal chapel, who undertook to exercise among the soldiers the functions of parish priest. He was excommunicated by the archbishop, but instituted proceedings against that prelate in a military court. This suit was quashed by the Audiencia, but the governor withheld the archbishop’s stipends. These conflicts led to certain of the measures adopted by the Council, recorded in our text. [↑]

PREROGATIVES OF EX-PROVINCIALS

GRANTED TO THE PROCURATORS OF THE ORDER OF HERMITS OF ST. AUGUSTINE IN FILIPINAS

Innocent XI, Pope. In future remembrance of the affair.

Not long ago it was represented to us on the part of our sons the brethren of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine of the province of the islands known as the Philippines, in the Ocean Sea that as they had to send a religious to attend to urgent matters of the said province in the Roman and Spanish royal courts, nor was any religious found willing to undertake such burden because of the very long and toilsome journey, that could not be made without grave discomforts and danger of life, as also because such procurators after laboring three years and longer in their charge were not allowed any prerogative, the same petitioners very earnestly desire a grant from us to the effect that those who for three continuous years shall exercise the duty of procurator in the said courts shall enjoy the privileges of ex-provincials. Since, moreover, not only the whole province aforesaid, but also the late prior-general of the said order, has petitioned for the grant of such indulgence, therefore the said petitioners have humbly solicited us to make through our apostolic bounty due provision in the premises.

1. Accordingly, desiring to reward the petitioners with special favors and graces, moreover considering them all and singular to be free from any sort of excommunication, ... and being not indisposed to hearken to their prayers, with the counsel of our venerable brethren the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church who are in charge of matters appertaining to bishops and regulars, and with the consent of the aforementioned prior general, by our apostolic authority, in virtue of these presents, we grant and allow those religious of the said province who in the future shall exercise at least for three years the duty of procurator of their province in the aforesaid courts the full and lawful possession and enjoyment of all the privileges, prerogatives, and exemptions now possessed and enjoyed by ex-provincials of the same province—due regard, however, always being had in the premises to the authority of the congregation of the same cardinals.

2. Decreeing that these present letters shall always be held as binding, valid, and efficacious, and shall obtain their plenary and entire results, etc.

Given at Rome, at St. Mary Major’s, under the seal of the Fisherman, December 17, 1677, the second year of our pontificate.

ROYAL PATRONAGE EXTENDED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

The King. Inasmuch as Fray Alonso Sandín,[1] definitor and procurator-general of the province of Santo Rosario of the Order of St. Dominic in the Filipinas Islands, has represented to me that a public academic institution was erected in the college of Santo Tomás of the city of Manila, by a bull of his Holiness Innocent X, promulgated November 20, 1645, at the instance of the king my sovereign and father (may he rest in peace) and passed by my Council of the Indias, by virtue of which degrees in the arts and theology are granted in that institution, with full rigor of examinations and publicity, to capable persons in those islands, from which follows a notable advantage for furnishing prebends and curacies, for which the students therein compete, they petition me that, considering this, in order that the students’ energy may not decrease in what at present is flourishing, I be pleased to admit that university under my royal patronage, and declare myself to be its patron. My said Council, having examined the petition, together with an authentic copy of the document erecting the university and of what my fiscal said concerning it, I have considered it expedient to admit, as by this present I do, the said university of the college of Santo Tomás of the city of Manila under my protection, and declare it to be under my royal patronage. I order my president and the auditors of my Audiencia of that city, and request and charge the archbishop of the city, the bishops of the said islands, the ecclesiastical and secular cabildos, the superiors of the orders, and any other of my judges and justices of the islands, that they consider it as such, and observe it; and that they cause to be observed the privileges and exceptions that pertain to it by reason of such patronage, for so is my will. Given in Madrid, May 17, 1680.

I the King

By order of the king our sovereign:

José de Veitialinage[2]

In the city of Manila, August 21, 1681. The president and auditors of the royal Audiencia and Chancillería of these Filipinas Islands, while in royal Council, after having examined the petition of father Fray Juan de Santa María[3] of the Order of Preachers, and rector of the university of Santo Tomás de Aquino, together with his Majesty’s royal decree which is mentioned therein, in which his Majesty receives his university under his royal protection and declares it to be under his royal patronage; and that due execution and fulfilment be given thereto in this royal Audiencia, together with the petition for the fiscal in the examination given it: the aforesaid took the decree in their hands, kissed it, and placed it upon their heads, as a decree of their king and legitimate sovereign (whom may the divine Majesty preserve, with increase of new kingdoms and seigniories); and in obedience thereto declared that they would observe, fulfil, and execute it, in accordance with, and as his Majesty ordains and commands, and—leaving a certified copy of it in the record books—that the original would be returned. Thus they voted and decreed and signed it with their rubrics before the fiscal.

Before me:

Juan Sánchez

[1] Alonso Sandin made his profession in the Dominican convent of Salamanca, in 1658. After completing his studies, he became a teacher in the college at Plasencia, but resigned that post for the Philippine missions, being then thirty-one years of age; he came in the mission of 1671. He was a teacher in Santo Tomás at Manila, until 1676, when he was sent as procurator to Rome and Madrid, filling that office for twenty years. He died at Madrid, in May, 1701. [↑]

[2] Veitia Linage is best known by his work, Norte de la contratación de las Indias occidentales (Sevilla, 1672) a valuable contribution to the history of Spanish commerce. [↑]

[3] Juan de Santa María came to these islands (1666) from the Dominican convent at Sevilla, where he had professed two years before. He was occupied as a teacher in Santo Tomás, later becoming rector of the university, superior of the province, and incumbent of other high offices therein. From 1694 to 1700 he labored in the missions of Bataan. At the time of his death (April 30, 1715) he was acting provincial. (Reseña biográfica, ii, pp. 24–26.) [↑]

LETTER TO CARLOS II

Sire:

Although the royal Audiencia must give you information of the controversies that have arisen between the religious of St. Dominic and the fathers of the Society of Jesus—from which resulted others between the archbishop of this city and the said fathers, as he attempted to be the judge in their suits, upon which they implored your royal aid—I cannot avoid, for my own part, giving you an account thereof, in order not to fail in my obligation. I must embark in a few days for Nueva Segovia, from which place the despatch that I would send may not arrive in time [for the mail to Acapulco], on account of the storms that may arise and the perils of the way that have been experienced—especially at this present time, with the deaths of several passengers, among them a religious of St. John of God.[1]

And although in another letter (which I sent by way of Banta) I gave your Majesty a detailed account of the litigation that has begun to take shape between the college of San Joseph, which is in charge of the fathers of the Society, and that of Santo Thomas, which is administered by the fathers of St. Dominic, it has seemed needful that I should continue that account, giving it quite fully on account of the unforeseen events that since have resulted. Years ago the said fathers of St. Dominic began a lawsuit against those of the Society in regard to the priority of their college, and, too, in regard to the authorization enjoyed by the Society of power to confer degrees on their students in arts and theology. After many disputes, and declarations by the royal Audiencia, both parties had recourse to your royal Council of the Indias; the Society obtained sentence in its favor, and the royal executory decree was ordered to be issued—of which, it cannot be doubted, account can be given in the Council. And although the Society have remained in peaceable possession, during the course of so long a time as has elapsed since the said executory decree, the Order of St. Dominic have tried in every way to disturb them—giving, in the “conclusions” which they print, the impression that their university is the only one [in Manila], and that the degrees conferred in that of the Society of Jesus were null and void. And now they are again styling their college of Santo Thomas a “royal college;” and for greater ostentation they placed, on the twenty-fourth of November in the past year, your Majesty’s arms over the gates of the said college. When the fathers of the Society saw this, they raised objections, demanding the observance of what was decreed and ordained by your Majesty in the above-mentioned executory decree, and that the rector of the college of Santo Thomas be notified of it, in order that he might not plead ignorance on account of not being an old resident of this city. The said rector, being notified of this opposition, purposely absented himself. Your royal Audiencia commanded that copies of the decisions of your royal Council, contained in the executory decree, be affixed to the doors of the said college of Santo Thomas, and posted in other public places in this city. The rector, without doubt, must have resented the command by your royal Audiencia; for upon one of the posted copies of the decisions of the Council a lay religious of St. Dominic placed another paper, in which he censured the fathers of the Society for trading and bartering.[2] Thereupon immediately came out your archbishop, who is of the said order,[3] with official statements against the Society, calling upon many laymen, residents of the city, to express their opinion on the point at issue, under [penalty of] censures. He also sent a notary to the ship “Santa Rossa” (which had put back to port), for the same purpose, because among those who had embarked thereon was Father Gerónimo de Ortega,[4] who had been appointed by the said order procurator-general for your royal court and that of Roma, with his companion, Father Luis de Morales.[5] This arrogant act was perhaps occasioned by seeing the said procurator and his companion lade on the ship various goods which they ordinarily send to the Marianas for the support and maintenance of the fathers who reside there, and of the others who (as is generally and publicly known) are aided by the said fathers with their accustomed charity and zeal. For these purposes they employ the liberal alms with which your Majesty has been pleased to coöperate in the promotion of a work so to the service of God our Lord, in that and other labors—as in the missions of China and other realms, where they are occupied in preaching the holy gospel. Besides, [I must not omit mention of] the disinterested manner in which they proceed in the administration of the missions which they occupy; this is sufficient testimony to their being so far removed from transactions of that sort, and evidence that we can and ought to understand; for every one knows that they do not exact fees for burials or marriages, or other functions. In this condition has remained the litigation of the said fathers—who are protected by your royal Audiencia; and since it is necessary for a definite account of the proceedings in future, I refer you in everything to the official legal report of the Audiencia. May our Lord prosper your Majesty with the happiness and success that Christendom needs for its protection and promotion. Manila, February 24, 1683.

Francisco, bishop of Nueva Segovia.

[Endorsed: “Manila; to his Majesty; 1683. The bishop of Nueva Segovia, Don Francisco Pizarro. Received on May 19, 1685, by the hand of Diego Altamirano, procurator of the Society.” These lines are followed by a brief synopsis of the bishop’s letter, and the comment, “Thus far no letter has been received from the Audiencia; but recently letters have come from the bishop of Nueva Caceres, Don Fray Andres Gonzalez, and the assistant bishop Barrientos, which mention, among other matters, the commercial transactions of the Society; and this information has been handed to the fiscal.”]

[Endorsed: “Council; let two other letters be brought—one from this bishop, and the other from the assistant bishop Duran.”]

[Endorsed: “Council; June 4, 1685. Carry this to the fiscal, so that he can examine with it all the other papers relating to this subject; and let a clerk make a brief of the whole matter.”]

[1] See account of the establishment of this hospital order in Manila (1641) in Concepción’s Hist. de Philipinas, vii, pp. 56–69; and the full history of its first century’s labors there, by the rector of its Manila convent, Fray Juan Manuel Maldonado de Puga (Granada, 1742). [↑]

[2] Montero y Vidal cites (Hist. de Filipinas, i, p. 368) a line of this pasquinade: “He who desires to buy carajais or frying-pans, iron, etc., resorts to the fathers of the Society.” [↑]

[3] Felipe Fernández de Pardo was born on February 7, 1611, in Valladolid, of noble lineage. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Dominican order in that city. After being ordained, he spent several years as a teacher in colleges of his order, and then joined the Philippine mission, arriving in the islands in 1648. He was a teacher in Santo Thomas for several years, and then its rector; in 1660 was elected prior of the Manila convent, and afterward, provincial. In 1671, he became commissary of the Inquisition at Manila, and in 1677 archbishop of that diocese, although, as the bulls therefor did not arrive, he was not consecrated until October 28, 1681. He was a rigorous censor of public morals, and a strenuous advocate of his ecclesiastical privileges; consequently, he became embroiled with influential private persons, with the secular government, and with the religious orders. As a result, the Audiencia decreed (March, 1683) his banishment, sending him to Lingayén. The new governor, Cruzalaegui, secured Pardo’s reinstatement in his see, which occurred November 15, 1684; then followed more troubles and disputes, the archbishop seeking vengeance on his former enemies. He died on December 31, 1689. See sketch of his life in Reseña biográfica, i, pp. 473–486; and an outline of his official career in Montero y Vidal’s Hist. de Filipinas, i, pp. 365–376. [↑]

[4] Jerónimo de Ortega was born at Tudela, April 12, 1627; he was but fourteen years old when he entered the Jesuit order. In 1654 he entered the Philippine missions, where most of his term of service was devoted to the college at Manila, of which he was successively vice-rector and rector during six years; he also filled other important offices in his order. Sailing for Europe (1683), as related in our text, he died at sea before reaching Acapulco, on November 15 of that year. See Murillo Velarde’s Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 356. [↑]

[5] Luís de Morales was born in Tordesillas on September 29, 1641, and became a Jesuit novice at the age of seventeen. Later, he devoted himself to the Philippine missions; in Mexico he met Father Sanvitores, who selected Morales to aid him in the evangelization of the Marianas, where he labored three years. In 1671 Morales went to Manila, where he was assigned to the Tagal missions; in 1676 he became rector of Antipolo, and in 1681 vice-rector of Cavite. Going to Europe with Ortega, the latter’s death imposed his responsible mission upon Morales. Having fulfilled its duties, he desired to return to the Philippines, but was detained in Mexico seven years; he came back to Manila about 1698, and soon afterward was elected provincial. His term of office ended, he was rector of the Manila college for four years; and he died there on June 14, 1716. (Murillo Velarde, Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 403–405.) [↑]

INSURRECTIONS BY FILIPINOS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

Gadanes; 1621

[An account of this uprising is given by Aduarte in book ii, chap. xvii, of his Historia; see our VOL. XXXII, pp. 113–120.]

In Bohol and Leyte; 1622

[See account of the Bohol revolt in VOL. XXIV, pp. 116–119; it also spread to Leyte. We present here some further account, obtained from Murillo Velarde’s Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 17, 18; Diaz’s Conquistas, pp. 132–136. Concepción (in Hist. de Philipinas, v, pp. 20–25) adds nothing new.]

The majority of the ministers in the island of Bohol[1] had gone to Zebu, to celebrate the feasts of the beatification of St. Xavier; in their absence Lucifer attempted to possess himself again of those souls. The divata, or demon, appeared to some Indians in the woods—its face covered, like that of one taking the discipline—and commanded them to quit the gospel ministers and the Spanish vassalage, and take refuge in the hills; and to build him a chapel, where he would aid them and give them whatever they needed to pass their lives in happiness and abundance, without the encumbrance of paying tribute to the Spaniards or dues to the churches. Two or three Indians, who on account of their evil deeds were wandering as fugitives, became priests of this divata, in order to persuade the people to apostasy and rebellion; and, to take away the fear which they naturally feel toward the Spaniards, these priests told them that, if they would attack the Spaniards, the divata would cause the mountains to rise against their foe; that the muskets of the latter would not go off, or else the bullets would rebound on those who fired them; that if any Indian should die, the demon would resuscitate him; that the leaves of the trees would be converted into saranga (which is a large fish); that when they cut bejucos, these would distil wine instead of water; that from the banana-leaves they would make fine linen; and, in short, that all would be pleasure, enjoyment, and delight. With these magnificent promises, so attractive to men—and especially to the Indians, who are so inclined to idleness and sloth—four villages revolted; only Loboc (which is the chief village) and Baclayon remained firm in the faith, and in loyalty to the king.

Information of this reached Zebu, and immediately Don Juan de Alcarazo, alcalde-mayor of Zebu, went to quiet the island;[2] he invited them to make peace, for which the rebels did not care. Their boldness increasing, they burned the four villages and their churches; they flung on the ground the rosaries and crosses, and pierced an image of the blessed Virgin eighteen times with javelins—although afterward in Zebu some tried to make amends to her with the most affectionate demonstrations of reverence, and she was placed in our church. Thereupon the chief ordered troops from Zebu, fifty Spaniards and a thousand friendly Indians,[3] accompanied by a father; and on New Year’s day, 1622, he began the march to the mountains, where the insurgents were. For five days they traveled through rugged hills and deep ravines, crossing marshes where the mud came to their knees, or even to their waists, and shedding their blood on the thorns and briars. On the fifth day, the insurgents killed a friendly Indian; this they celebrated with loud shouts, and it greatly increased their arrogance. On the following day, more than 1,500 rebel Indians attacked our vanguard, which consisted of sixteen Spaniards and three hundred Indians; but when our muskets were fired so many fell dead that the rebels began to retreat to a bamboo thicket. When we followed them, a heavy rain fell, which encouraged the rebels, for they said that our muskets were then useless. But Heaven favored our cause with a marvel, since, although the pans of the musket-locks were full of water, the soldiers declared that the powder never failed to catch fire, nor did the matches go out. At this the rebels fled into the mountains; and our men arrived at a village of more than a thousand houses, in the midst of which was the temple of their divata. Our troops found there much food, various jewels of silver and gold, and many bells of the sort those people use—all which was given to our Indians. The rebels were in a fortification of stone, in which they had placed many stones and clods of earth to throw at our men; but the latter, covering themselves with their shields, seized the redoubt, with the death of many of the enemy,[4] and in a fortnight returned to Loboc. Captain Alcarazo, who was foremost in all these engagements, commanded that some of the rebels be hanged, and published a pardon to the rest; and he returned to Zebu,[5] where the victory was celebrated. This success had very important results, for it checked the revolt of other islands and other villages—who were expecting the favorable result which the demon had promised them, so that they could shake off the mild yoke of Christ, and with it their vassalage to the Spaniards. Many of them, now undeceived, accepted the pardon; but others, who were stubborn, fortified themselves at the summit of a rugged and lofty hill, difficult of access, and closed the road [to it] with brambles and thorns.[6] They also filled the paths with very sharp stakes driven into the soil, and placed among the branches of the trees many crossbows,[7] in order that these, being discharged as our men passed them, might wound the soldiers; and above they provided many stones to throw at the Spaniards, hurling them from the top of the hill. Six months later the same Don Juan Alcarazo returned, to dislodge those rebels with forty Spaniards and many Indians. After suffering great hardships in making the paths accessible, nearly all his men were hurt, by the time they reached the fort, by the many stones which the enemy hurled down from the summit; but our soldiers courageously climbed the ascent, firing their muskets, and killed many of the rebels, putting the rest to flight. Thus was dispersed that sedition, which was one of the most dangerous that had occurred in the islands—not only because the Boholans were the most warlike and valiant of the Indians, but on account of the conspiracy spreading to many other tribes. Noble examples of fidelity in this great disturbance are not lacking. [Murillo Velarde here mentions two instances of this.]

The natives of Carigara in the island of Leyte became impatient, and revolted without waiting for the result in Bohol, incited thereto by Bancao, the ruling chief of Limasava—who in the year 1565[8] received with friendly welcome Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and the Spaniards who came to his island, supplying them with what they needed, for which Phelipe II sent him a royal decree, thanking him for the kind hospitality which he showed to those first Spaniards. He was baptised and, although a young man, showed that he was loyal to the Christians; but, conquered by the enemy [of souls], he changed sides in his old age.[9] This man lived in the island of Leyte, and with a son of his and another man, Pagali (whom he chose as priest of his idolatry), erected a sacred place to the divata, or devil; and they induced six villages in the island to rebel. In order to remove from them their fear of the Spaniards, these men told their followers that they could change the Spaniards into stones as soon as they saw them, by repeating the word bato, which signifies “stone;” and that a woman or a child could change them into clay by flinging earth upon them. Father Melchor de Vera went to Zebu to give warning of this sedition and obtain aid to check it. Captain Alcarazo equipped an armada of forty vessels, in which were embarked some Spaniards and many friendly Indians, also the father rector of Zebu and Father Vera; these united with the forces (both Spanish and Indian) that the alcalde of Leyte had. They offered peace to the rebels, but the latter spurned it with contempt. Our men, divided into three bodies, attacked them; and, when that which Don Juan de Alcarazo commanded came in sight of the rebels, they fled to the hills. Our soldiers followed them, and on the way put to the sword or shot those whom they encountered; and, although the compassion of the Spaniards spared the children and women,[10] these could not escape the fury of the Indians. Many of the rebels died, the enchantment not availing them by which they had thought to turn the Spaniards into stone or clay; the rest saved themselves by flight. The Spaniards came to a large building which the rebels had erected for their divata; they encamped in it ten days, and then burned it. Some one pierced with a lance Bancao, the chief instigator of the rebellion, not knowing who he was, whom two of his slaves were carrying on their shoulders and immediately his head was placed on a stake as a public warning. He and his children came to a wretched end, as a punishment for their infidelity and apostasy; for his second son was beheaded as a traitor, and a daughter of his was taken captive. To inspire greater terror, the captain gave orders to shoot three or four rebels, and to burn[11] one of their priests—in order that, by the light of that fire, the blindness in which the divata had kept them deluded might be removed. The Spaniards also cut off the head of an Indian who had robbed Father Vinancio [i.e., Vilancio] and broken to pieces an image of the Virgin, and kicked a crucifix; and his head was set up in the same place where he had committed those horrible sacrileges. There were many who, in the midst of so furious a tempest, remained constant in their religious belief. [Several instances of this are related by the author.]

Mandayas; 1625

[For particulars of this insurrection, see Aduarte’s Historia, book ii, chaps, xxviii, xxx, in our VOL. XXXII, pp. 147–152, 162. Cf. Ferrando’s account, Hist. de los PP. Dominicos, ii, pp. 114–117; and our VOL. XXII, pp. 69, 95.]

In Caraga and in Cagayan; 1629

[See VOL. XXIV, pp. 165, 175, 177, 216, 217, 229; and fuller account of that in Caraga, in Concepción’s Hist. de Philipinas, v, pp. 163–179 (in our VOL. XXXV, pp. 89–91).]

In Nueva Segovia; 1639

[See Santa Cruz’s account (Hist. Sant. Rosario) in our VOL. XXXV, pp. 47–51.]

Map of the Philippine Islands, drawn by Captain John Kempthorne, ca. 1688; (evidently from earlier map of 1676); photographic facsimile

[From original manuscript map in the British Museum]

In Pampanga, 1645; and in Bulacán, 1643

[The following is taken from Diaz’s Conquistas, pp. 483, 484:]

This fearful earthquake[12] was general in all these Filipinas, although it was more severe in some regions than in others—for in the province of Cagayán, in [the land of] one people called Maynanes, a great mountain was cleft open; and the havoc made by it extended as far as Maluco. In the heights of Gapang,[13] in the province of Pampanga, it was very severe, and lasted several days. Even greater damage might have been done by an uprising that was plotted by an Indian of evil disposition in the villages of Gapang, Santor, Caranglán, and Patabangán, exhorting the natives there to rebel and restore themselves to their former liberty, by slaying the Spaniards and the religious. He assured them that in Manila there were no Spaniards left, because the earth had swallowed them, with the entire city, on the night of the earthquake that occurred on St. Andrew’s day; and that the demon, with whom he had compact and intercourse, had promised him that he would aid the natives so that they might maintain themselves without paying tribute, and might enjoy much prosperity, and provided that they would slay the fathers and burn the churches. The delusion of the Indians of Gapang went so far that they seized arms, and summoned to their aid many heathen Zambals, and burned the churches of Santor and Pantabangán. When this was known in Manila, the encomendero of those villages, Admiral Rodrigo de Mesa, offered his services to pacify them, and went to Gapang with Alférez Callejas, their collectors of tribute, and some friendly Indians; but the insurgents, who now were numerous, badly wounded the encomendero, who fled on horseback, and a year later died from that wound at Manila. They slew Alférez Callejas and many of the loyal Indians who went in his company, and fortified themselves in the mountains. The prior and minister, Fray Juan Cabello, escaped by the aid of some other Indians who were not of the hostile party, came to Manila, and gave information of the progress of the rebellion. Opinions differed as to the methods which should be employed in pacifying the insurgents; and our father provincial, Fray Alonso Carbajal, decided to send the father lecturer Fray Juan de Abarca,[14] a religious for whom the natives of that district had much affection and respect, since he had been their minister for many years. With this commission this religious set out for Pampanga, taking with him a companion, Master-of-camp Don Agustin Songsong, a valiant Pampango, with as many soldiers of that people as seemed necessary. They arrived at Gapang, and by means of father Fray Juan de Abarca’s preaching and his earnest efforts—which would take too long to relate, as would the many perils of death to which he exposed himself—that sedition was finally quelled, and the insurgents returned to their former quiet. But the Indian sorcerer, the cause of this disturbance, did not make his appearance, notwithstanding all the efforts that were made to find him.

Another rebellion, which threatened a great outbreak, was checked (in the year 1643) by father Fray Cristobal Enriquez. In the district of Malolos in the province of Bulacán, an Indian named Don Pedro Ladía, a native of Borney, went about promoting sedition; he proclaimed that to him belonged the right of being king over the provinces of Tagalos, alleging that he was a descendant of Raja Matanda,[15] the petty king whom the Spaniards found at Manila in the year 1571. With these and other impostures, aided by wine—the chief counselor in matters of policy and war, among those natives—and with the consultations with the demon which always figure on these occasions, he kept many villages of that district disquieted. But the sagacious procedure of father Fray Cristobal Enriquez intercepted all these misfortunes which were threatening us, by furnishing a plan for the arrest of Don Pedro Ladía—who already was styling himself “king of the Tagálogs;” he was sent to Manila, where, he paid with his life for his vain presumption. And thus this revolt, lacking even that weak foundation, was entirely quieted.

In the Pintados; 1649–50

[The best authorities on this insurrection are the Jesuit historians, since it arose in regions under their spiritual charge. We select the earliest account, that of Combés, written while the incidents of that time were fresh in men’s minds; it is found in his Hist. de Mindanao, col. 489–498. Murillo Velarde also relates these events, in Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 171b–175. Cf. the Augustinian Diaz, in Conquistas, pp. 517–523; and the Recollect Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, vi, pp. 247–280.]

The queen of Joló, Tuambaloca, wrote at the same time, asking permission to come to end her days in the island of Basilan, and all was so secure from war that she remained as arbiter of peace for all the islands of Samboangan; and, as such, even the governor of Manila availed himself of her power[16] in order to pacify the disturbances in the islands....

This occasion made sufficiently evident the greatness of the benefit that the islands owe to the Society for the [treaties of] peace made with these kings—thus finding the royal arms at liberty for more pressing exigencies, and being set free, as regards those kings, from the most painful anxiety lest their forces would be allied with our dangers. With this, attention could be given to the punishment of Burney, a pirate as cruel as impious; and to finding external relief in the domestic losses and evils which had rendered our safety so uncertain. [Our forces were thus ready] in an almost general revolt of all the islands, in the provinces that were most subjugated and had never tested the keenness of our arms; for they had yielded to the echoes of our trumpets, receiving our troops in peace. But in these recent years had been operating in these new worlds the influences of that malign planet which was ruining Europe (and especially our España), with revolts of entire kingdoms, and has caused rivers of blood to run in the populous kingdom of China; and it reached these islands, to wreak on them its fierceness. And God—permitting evil, for the credit of virtue and the reward of the good—gave warlike courage to the most pusillanimous tribes, and armed the nakedness of these Indians to resist the unconquerable steel of our Spaniards.

The first region to declare against us was the province of Ibabao, which is in the island of Samar; it is the coast which faces the north, beaten by the sea of Nueva España. There the Society has a new residence, which is occupied by six fathers. All the villages connected with it revolted, following the audacious stand of the chief among them, which is Palapag. This was occasioned by the oppressions arising from our public works—which is a motive that should appeal to them, since they were the ones interested in the defense [of the coasts against their enemies]. But the Indians, as barbarians, do not heed future perils, but rather present fatigues; and to these their slothful nature opposes itself. The losses of galleons made it necessary to maintain in that province a shipyard. This drafted all the carpenters from Manila, and, in order to supply those that were needed on that shore, it was necessary to demand from each province a certain number—a quota of hardly one to each village, and this so equitably that to worldly prudence these allotments seemed advantageous, for which many would eagerly ask. But as the Indians have grown up in their wretchedness and in the life of brutes in their remote mountains, it seems to them that they are maintaining their liberty. They resented greatly this political compulsion to citizenship and the formation of a village, [so that they would live] as men. Those in the provinces that were most civilized and were nearest to Manila had obeyed the decree without opposition, but these [remote] provinces immediately made such demonstrations of displeasure that all of us perceived the difficulty [of enforcing the demand], and several undertook to represent it [to the authorities]. Don Diego de Faxardo was the governor, a man so harsh in his methods, and having so little pious regard for the [religious] ministers, that their intercessions only made him more cruel, on account of the dogmatic opinion which he followed, that the ministers are the ones who oppose the royal service. Accordingly they all gave up any active opposition, but moderated in a thousand ways the execution [of the decree] (which they saw could not be avoided), sometimes with gifts, sometimes with considerations of utility. The men of Ibabao, trusting in the ruggedness of their coast or the inaccessibility of their mountains, or in the succor which had been positively promised to them by the Dutch—who every year make port on their coasts, awaiting with their armed fleets the relief [sent us] from Nueva España—immediately declared themselves [against us]. At the outset, in their stubbornness and disobedience, until their affairs were settled and their retreat prevented, they talked of fleeing to the mountains. This was their first opinion; but a malicious Indian interfered in the discussion, and told them that they could not accomplish anything by that course, because the village would not be destroyed, nor would the promoters [of the rebellion] have the following that they desired, unless they ordered that all should rebel, and slay the father, and burn the church; for their guilt in such action would intimidate all of them. As their councils were held in the excitement of wine, all readily approved this extravagant proposal. Immediately the demon offered them, for its execution, the evilly-inclined mind of a vile Indian named Sumoroy, who, although he had been much favored by the fathers as being a skilful pilot on the sea, and on this account had always enjoyed immunity from tribute and personal services, and was actually the castellan of the fortified residence that they had there, yet desired—because they had removed an obstacle[17] which for many years had kept him at variance with and separated from his lawful wife—to find an opportunity for vengeance. This man offered to kill the father; and, confirming his resolve with many draughts to his success, and loud shouts, they dreamed that they were already masters of the entire world, and had slain all the Spaniards. He had already prejudiced their minds against his enemy, telling each Indian in the village separately that he had been assigned by the father to go to the Manila shore; consequently, no one now repaired to mass or took notice of public affairs. The father rector—who was Father Miguel Ponce Barberan, a native of the kingdom of Aragon—saw plainly the hostile disposition of the people, but never could have imagined so insane a resolve; and if any one could most confidently throw aside anxiety it was this father, for he had been, without contradiction, the most beloved and cherished by the natives, of all the fathers who had itinerated there—and, as well, the one who had spent most years in ministering to those people. A Tuesday, then, the first day of June in the year 1649, the traitor selected for his sacrilegious parricide; and, as a thief in the house, who knew its avenues of entrance and egress very well, he took his stand within, awaiting the father at the top of the stairway, when he should ascend it after supper. While the father halted on the stairs to say a prayer for the souls in purgatory—for which, it happened, the bells were ringing—Sumoroy hurled a javelin at him from above, which pierced his breast and immediately brought him to the ground; nor did he breathe again, spending his last energy in pronouncing the sweet names of Jesus and Mary.

For two days the fathers remained at home in suspense, without understanding the cause of this evil deed, or knowing who was its author; and the rebels themselves delayed to commit sacrileges by breaking with shame and declaring themselves [rebels]. Finally, on the day of Corpus Christi, about noon, the murderer came in sight, leading the multitude, and openly declared that it was he who had slain the father, loudly defying the whole world. They gave the fathers and the brother whom they found in the house the opportunity to leave it, provided that they removed nothing from it; and immediately, as barbarians and enemies of God—forgetting the faith and Christian belief of so many years, in which they had grown up—they sacked and burned the church and house, profaning the ornaments, and cutting from them drawers and turbans according to their old-time usage. If there were any of the faithful [among the crowd], they let themselves be persuaded by the argument of the barbarians for their timidity, that if they remained among the insurgents the anger of the Spaniards would be moderated, and accordingly they followed the perverse ones. The report of this sacrilegious act fanned the flame of infernal zeal itself, and found the minds of the people so ready that, almost as if there had been a general decision and they only awaited the signal for putting it into execution, in almost all the villages on that coast they burned their churches, the ministers fled, and the rebels retreated to the mountains, where they fancied they could maintain their former brutal mode of life.

In the rest of the provinces—either because they perhaps regarded it as somewhat discreditable that the men of Ibabao should display their valor in order to oppose the Spaniards, and they themselves not do so; or because all of them were (as some desire to be) in communication with the Dutch—they proceeded to follow the example and imitate the boldness of the men of Palapag. Our arms would be found greatly embarrassed if those of the Dutch were to add confidence to the insolence of the Indians; and, at the very least, there would not remain a province which would not be up in arms, and no minister or Spaniard of those who were scattered among them would escape. But God our Lord, who chastised as a father, and chose to correct with clemency the wickedness with which the Spaniards abuse the subject condition of these natives—and as a warning to the latter, to confirm them in the truth of our holy faith and disabuse them of their errors—so adjusted the times that although the Dutch fleets had not failed to come to the islands for ten years past, about that very month [i.e., June], in this year the peace kept them away, and the publication of it arrived here in good time, so that our forces were left free for the punishment [of the rebels].

Immediately the province of Camarines, on the mainland of Manila, declared itself against us, and the father guardian [of the Franciscans] was banished from Solsogon; and their lead was followed by their island of Masbate, where an alférez was put to death. This presumptuous act disturbed the peace of Cebú Island; and its natives also, without fearing the strong fort and the city to near them, also defied us, another officer being slain there. In the province of Caraga, the men of Linao revolted, displaying their evil intentions by the murder of the father prior (a discalced Augustinian), and of the Spaniards in a small garrison which was kept there, some dozen in number; but few escaped, and those were badly wounded. In the province of Iligan, which borders on Caraga, the Manobos, a barbarian tribe, seized the peaceable village of Cagayan. The entire coast [i.e., of northern Mindanao], and the adjacent island of Camigin, followed their example; in Camigin they bound the father prior (also a discalced Augustinian), the impious Indians going so far as to place their brutal feet on the neck of the holy religious. In the jurisdiction of Samboangan, the Subanos went astray—their principal village, named Siocon, releasing itself from obedience with the sacrilegious parricide of Father Juan del Campo, and the atrocious murder of his companions, as we shall afterward relate. The Boholans, on account of their valor, retained their esteem for the faith. Thus, for the punishment of so many atrocious deeds and for quelling the insolence of the barbarians, there remained to us no other arms than those of Samboangan, and no other auxiliaries than those people who had been our friends for so few years.

Those of Ibabao aroused the utmost anxiety, their insolence continually calling us to arms; for, not content with atrocities in their own country, they went to disquiet another region. They even disturbed those who dwelt on the opposite coast of Samar, threatening them with ruin if they did not follow the lead of the others. Their attempts began to be dangerous, since they stirred up the village of Paranas, which is only two leguas from the seat of our jurisdiction there—Catbalogan, where the alcalde-mayor resides; and in fact many fled to the mountains, without regard to the war which menaced them, when the Spaniards were placed under arms, two leguas from their abode. In the other villages [the natives] were in arms, and regarded us all with apprehension. At the outset, the alcalde-mayor was ready with such force as he could assemble—adventurers in the province, mestizos, and Indians; but, as the former were all collectors [of tribute] and the latter all relatives [of the insurgents], some were not accustomed to arms and the hardships of campaigning, and the others could not use weapons against those of their own blood. Accordingly this, instead of checking their fury, only rendered their boldness more insolent, and gave unwonted force to their arms; and men who before did not find enough woods in which to hide themselves from a Camucon ship, now went so far as to make daybreak assaults on our troops, and slew our men before our eyes. And as a final token of their contempt, when the captain demanded from them the head of Sumoroy, by way of atonement for what he had done, they sent down the river to him the head of a swine—although in the end, worn out, they considered it good luck that they could again secure peace.

[The authorities] in Manila, seeing that the revolt was continually gathering strength, and that the insolence of the insurgents was passing all bounds, recognized how important it was to repress it, undertaking its chastisement in earnest. For this purpose they despatched General Andres Lopez de Azaldigui (who was chief of the royal galleys of these islands), with the title of lieutenant of the captain-general; and with this authority he levied many Spaniards, being empowered to obtain them from all the fortified posts. He made all the necessary arrangements for the enterprise, but he soon recognized the danger that he incurred among the natives—who all, regarding those of Palapag as restorers of their liberty, were rejoicing over their successes—and that in our reverses we had cause to fear them as enemies, since they were on the watch to know what fortune those of Palapag had in order to follow it if they were sure of the result. A large fleet of native boats was needed for the transportation of provisions and military supplies; but, the greater the number of these that were thus assembled, the more was the danger increased. On this account the general wrote to Manila, demanding galleys; and there, in order to avoid the expense of galleys and the perils of seas so rough, they despatched orders that the armada should come from Zamboangan—for the loyalty of those people against the Bisayans, as against their old-time enemies, could not be doubted. And with the support of these [auxiliaries] effective aid might be rendered by those of the inland provinces, which had been ruled without risk by the Spaniards because they did not go there entirely in the hands of the natives.

The armada was despatched as promptly as possible by the commandant [of Zamboanga]. Sargento-mayor Pedro Duran, with two captains in active service—as chief, Captain Juan Muñoz, who was commander of the armada; and as second in command Captain Juan de Ulloa—with the most choice and distinguished soldiers of the Lutaos. As leader of these, since he was the military chief of that people, was sent General Don Francisco Ugbo (whom I have previously mentioned), with the master-of-camp, sargento-mayor, and captains of the tribe, and as many as four hundred of its men. Father Francisco Martinez had then arrived at Samboangan, to act as rector of the new [Jesuit] college there—of which the official recognition from our father general came in this same year—a religious who deserved well of those Christian churches, for he had sustained them in their earliest infancy, having labored in the arduous beginnings of [the missions in] Joló and Samboangan. By this [departure of the Lutaos] Father Alexandro Lopez found his occupation gone, and was therefore able to embark with the armada, which needed his presence and aid, as it was going for so important an enterprise—on the fortunate result of which, as many thought, depended the fidelity of all the provinces of Pintados. All fortified themselves with the holy sacraments, as solicitously as Christians of very long standing could do; and, as if they were such, on all occasions which arose in the voyage and in the battle itself they made evident, by their reverence for their holy name [of Christians] and appreciation of the danger, how they felt these obligations in their hearts. The sargento-mayor of the tribe (who belonged to its highest nobility) encountered a temptation to his own perdition; but he put it behind him by saying that he was going to war, and could not at that time discuss a matter which would work injury to his soul.

Great was the rejoicing which this armada caused in all the towns where it landed, notably in the city of Cebú, where the Lutaos were known (and most of them, especially those who commanded the joangas, had the reputation of being pirates), at seeing them, now Christians, repair to the churches with so much devotion and attend divine worship with such reverence—those very people who had ravaged the islands with fire, and damaged nearly all the churches of Bisayas with their outrages and robberies; those who yesterday were enemies, but today bearing arms in our aid; and those who yesterday were cruel enemies to God, now the avengers of insults to Him. Tears sprang to [the eyes of] all, and they did not cease to give a thousand thanks to the fathers for their labors, so effectual—not only in the conversion of that Moro people, but for the benefit of these Christian communities, removing their terror and turning their dread and mistrust of the Moro arms into joy and expectation of success.

Arriving at Palapag by the month of May [i.e., in 1650], they found that the leader of the campaign was Captain Don Xinés de Roxas; and that it had been much retarded on account of the reputation which the men of Palapag had steadily gained by their daring acts. They had fortified themselves on a height which was regarded as impregnable by nature, as only one path was known by which it could be ascended, and that very narrow and difficult. On this path the enemy had built fortifications, and from loopholes therein they did much damage to our men, without risk [to themselves]; they lost no opportunity to fall suddenly on our troops, and any man who strayed from the rest paid the penalty with his life, so sharply did they note any negligence on our part; and, as masters of the land, they boldly engaged us, secure from being pursued. The captain wearied himself much with various fortifications, and kept the men exhausted; and he engaged in the same fatiguing labor those of the armada, until the sargento-mayor of that tribe, Don Alonso Maconbon, was bold enough to ask him, face to face, why he was wearing out the men in work which was not important.

He told the captain that they had not come to haul logs, but to fight in battle, and that he must contrive to employ them in fighting; for, if he did not, they would go back to their homes. At seeing the daring of this man, and the angry words that the soldiers of Samboangan—who, as veterans, were eager to have an opportunity for distinguishing themselves—flung at him, although he resented their lack of respect he was rejoiced to see their courage; and he was encouraged to make the assault, which, with the coxcombs and foppish adventurers from Manila, seemed a dangerous enterprise. And, as those of the armada, it seems, were boasting most of their valor, he assigned them to the brunt of the battle, in order thus to employ their courage in carrying out their own advice.

He made ready, then, the infantry of the armada, with the Lutaos, for a day that he set for the assault, which they were obliged to make over a precipitous ascent, exceedingly dangerous—so that they could make their way up it only by giving their weapons and their hands to each other.[18] At nightfall they reached the slope, and in the darkness of the night proceeded to ascend it. The enemy had their sentinels, but our Lord easily diverted their attention by sending a heavy shower of rain—which our men regarded as a misfortune, which made the enterprise more difficult and the ascent all the more dangerous. But it was altogether fortunate for the expedition; for the pass was so difficult that the sentinel alone could defend it against a thousand assailants, and the most feeble old man was sufficient for guarding it, especially if the danger [from an attack] were known to the insurgents, who had given all their attention to the troop of the commander Don Xinés. The time while the rain fell was enough to enable all the soldiers to reach the top without danger; and so careful were the men that not one of them had his match extinguished. They halted there, waiting for the daylight; and when the rain gave opportunity to the sentinel he came back, waving a torch in order to light his path. Our men could have slain him; but they let him go, so as not to raise an alarm. Either because he heard their voices, or saw some lighted match, he waited a little while, and then returned to inform the rest of it; and the troops, seeing that they were discovered, marched toward the fortifications. So quickly they reached them that the enemy at once took to flight; our men pursued them with their arms, but the enemy quickly escaped, by dangerous precipices and paths which they know well. But the Spaniards did not choose to divert much of their attention [to the fugitives], rather taking care to occupy promptly their Rochelle;[19] accordingly, they erected their fortifications, and occupied them with their artillery, supplies, and weapons. From that place they sent for the commander, Captain Don Xinés de Roxas, who went up to take possession of the gains made by the arduous efforts and daring bravery of the men of Samboangan. In this enterprise Captain Francisco de Leyba, then commander of the Samboangan armada, and Captain Silvestre de Rodas, an old soldier of Terrenate, especially distinguished themselves.

The Lutaos dispersed through the place, and, breaking into a house, found the mother of the traitor and parricide Sumoroy; and they dragged her out and tore her to pieces. Sumoroy had been sent down [from their stronghold] the day before, secretly, in a hammock, and all the children and women the rebels had already placed in safety; for, from the day when they saw the Samboangan armada, they felt that their cause was lost, and, lacking confidence in the outcome, they forestalled the danger. Thus was ended this longed-for enterprise, and the war in Ibabao; for the natives, now disarmed and divided, would have no courage left, save for flight, and the hardships of a life so full of fear [as that of fugitives] would oblige them to surrender, one by one—as was actually the case. Accordingly, the armada [and its men] took their departure, leaving the islands thankful for what they had accomplished and edified by their good example. For in the heat of conflict and in dangerous encounters (which is the time when the natural disposition and the inner soul are displayed), those soldiers did not fail to invoke the sweet names of Jesus and Mary, without ceasing or neglecting this in the utmost confusion and ardor of battle, giving pious examples to the Christian soldiery—to the admiration of the natives, [although they were] accustomed to these [pious] observances; since the clamorous efforts [of the soldiers], and solicitude for their danger, disturb the piety of even the oldest veterans.

[We append to this the following account from Diaz’s Conquistas (pp. 517–523), as being more detailed and furnishing a somewhat different light on various incidents of the insurrection. In order to place it in the present document, as belonging to this special subject, it has been removed from its place in Diaz’s history of his order and its missions (see VOL. XXXVII, pp. 149–284).]

There was an Indian named Sumoroy in the village of Palapag, who was regarded as one of the best, although he was one of the very worst, and was as evil as his father—who, accredited with the same hypocrisy, was a babaylán and priest of the devil, and made the other Indians apostatize. He was greatly addicted to drunkenness, and he had so promoted it [in others] that all the village was contaminated with this vice, as well as that of lust—vices so closely allied to idolatry, of which truth there are many examples in Holy Writ. The inhabitants of Palapag were corrupted by those evil habits at the time when Governor Don Diego Fajardo—with the intention of relieving the near-by provinces of Tagalos and Pampanga from the burden of working, at the harbor of Cavite, in the building of galleons and vessels necessary for the conservation and defense of these islands—had ordered the alcaldes of Leite and other provinces to send men thence to Cavite for that employment. That was a difficult undertaking, because of the distance of more than one hundred leguas, and the troubles and wrongs to the said Indians that would result from their leaving their homes for so long a time. The father ministers went to the alcaldes, and the latter to Manila, to represent those troubles and wrongs; but the only thing that they obtained was a more stringent order to execute the mandate without more reply. Consequently they could do nothing else than obey the orders of the superior government, although they feared what very soon occurred. But what good end could so mistaken and pernicious a decision have?

As soon as the inhabitants of Palapag saw that the alcaldes-mayor were beginning to collect men to send them to the harbor of Cavite, they began to go oftener to the meetings in the house of Sumoroy and his father, and to begin (when heated with wine, the ordinary counselor of the Indians) to organize their insurrection. They quickly appointed leaders, of whom the chief was Don Juan Ponce, a very influential man and a bad Christian, but married to a wife from a chief’s family in the village of Catubig; she was very different from him in her morals, for she was very virtuous. The second leader was one Don Pedro Caamug, and the third the above-named Sumoroy. Then they discussed the murder of the father minister, Miguel Ponce of the Society of Jesus, an Aragonese,[20] at the suggestion of that malignant sorcerer and priest of the devil, the father of Sumoroy, who charged that undertaking upon his son. On Tuesday evening, the first of June, 1649, he went to the house of the father, who had just eaten his dinner, and was ascending a narrow ladder to his house. Sumoroy awaited him at that place, and hurling his lance, pierced his breast from side to side, and left him dead, without more time than to say “Jesus, Mary.” They spared the life of Father Julio Aleni,[21] a Roman, saying that he was not their minister, but was dedicated to China, whence is inferred their motive in killing the [former] father. Next day they despoiled the house and church of its furniture and holy ornaments; profaned the altars and sacred images; scattered the holy oils; and used the silver chrismatories for the ajonjolí oil with which they anoint their hair.

It was the will of divine Providence to show forth the devout fidelity of the women amid the infidelity and apostasy of the men; for, the day before that spoliation, Doña Angelina Dinagungan, wife of Don Juan Ponce, accompanied by another good Christian woman, Doña María Malón, went to the church and saved some holy images and ornaments, besides a chest belonging to the father, with the little that it contained, which they afterward surrendered to him. Among the images that that devout woman saved from the sacrilegious hands of the rebels was an image of our Lady of the Conception, which was kept with great propriety in the house of Doña María Malón, and which was often seen to sweat abundantly and to shed tears, a miracle which spread throughout the village. When the perfidious Sumoroy heard of it, he said: “The Virgin Mary is weeping. Let us see if she will weep if we burn the house;” and he went thither, with other men like himself, and set fire to it. But Divine Clemency did not permit the fire to catch in that house, although it was of bamboo and nipa like the others. The husband of Doña María Malón, called Don Gabriel Hongpón, was a head man [cabeza de barangay]; and only he and all his people remained faithful to God and to their king. God gave him courage to resist so many, who always respected him as he was so influential a man in that village of Palapag.

The insurgents incited the inhabitants of Catubig, who also revolted. They killed a Spaniard, and burned the church and house of the father minister, after having sacked it. The contagion having spread to other villages, the people did the same at Pambohan, or Bayugo, Catarman, and Bonan; and thence passed to infect the provinces of Ibalón[22] and Camarines, where they killed a Franciscan religious, the guardian of Sorsogón. They killed Alférez Torres in Masbate. In Caraga, the inhabitants of the village of Tinao revolted and killed their minister, a discalced Augustinian, and a few Spanish soldiers of a small presidio established there, the rest escaping the fury of the insurgents. In Iligán, the village of Cagayán, a mission of our discalced religious, revolted. In the adjacent island of Camiguín, a mission of the same religious, they bound their minister and set their feet on his neck. The Subanos mutinied in the jurisdiction of Zamboanga, in the village called Siocon, where they killed Father Juan del Campo[23] of the Society of Jesus. The villages of the islands of Cebú and Bohol, who are warlike people, were wavering in their loyalty. But Divine Clemency did not permit them to declare themselves. Thus with the patience and tolerance of the father ministers, who suffered many hardships and found themselves in great danger, those fires—which could have consumed the loyalty of the provinces of these islands—were soon extinguished. The first village to rebel in the island of Leite was Bacor, where the church and house of the father minister were burned, and the people joined the inhabitants of Palapag, leaving the village deserted. The insurgents pretended that two Dutch ships were near, which were coming to aid them as equals in their rebellion against the Church and the vassalage due to their lawful king; and that pretense greatly aided them in their evil design.

As soon as the alcalde-mayor of Leite heard of the insurrection, he collected all the boats and men possible, but these were very fragile means to oppose to so vast a multitude of insurgent and desperate men. Consequently, although they went to Palapag with the said alcalde-mayor, one Captain Don Juan Gómez de tres Palacios y Estrado, they served no other purpose than to make the rebellion worse, and to encourage the enemy. The latter intrenched themselves on an impregnable hill called “the table of Palapag;” and what is the greatest cause for surprise is that a Spaniard called Pedro Zapata, who had married an Indian woman in Palapag (who must have perverted him), went with them. But the insurgents gave him his pay by killing him, in order to take away the woman, a worthy reward for his incredible treason. They made trenches and strong stockades, with many sharp stakes and snares, and many stone boulders suspended, which, by being thrown upon the strongest army, would cause cruel injury. To work greater harm, they gave command of their men to Don Pedro Caamug, who descended the hill with two hundred insurgents and returned to the village of Palapag, where he killed the father minister, Vicente Damián,[24] and two boys who were serving him, who in their fear were clinging to the father. They again burned the church, a chamber of nipa and bamboo which Don Gabriel and his faithful followers had erected for the celebration of mass, furnishing this additional bond to their apostasy and rebellion. They returned to their impregnable hill after this, which was in their eyes a great victory, and began to fortify themselves much more strongly than they were, as they feared the war that was expected from Manila.

Governor Don Diego Fajardo, seeing that the undertaking of the reduction of the inhabitants of Palapag was an affair requiring much care and consideration, because of the evil effects that would result from any unfavorable event, after holding a council of war determined to entrust this undertaking to the commander of the galleys, Andrés López de Asaldigui (already named on many occasions), as he had all the good qualities which can form a good soldier; for he was very brave and prudent, fortunate in the enterprises that had been entrusted to him, and a prime favorite with the soldiers because of his great liberality. That commander left Manila with the best men whom he could enlist, both Spaniards and Pampangos, and went to Catbalogan, the capital of that province, where he mustered thirteen oared vessels and two champans. His first order was to send some vessels to Panay and Iloilo for food. Well informed of the condition of the rebels of Palapag, he found that he needed more war-supplies for that conquest; for the insurgents had extended their revolt to many villages of the island, and the other neighboring islands were apparently prepared to follow their bold acts, if they were at all fortunate. Therefore Andrés López de Asaldegui sent to ask the governor for the galleys in his charge; but the latter did not send them, in order to avoid the expense that would be caused the royal treasury, which was very needy. But he sent order instead that the fleet of Zamboanga should be at his disposal.

[At this juncture, Asaldigui is summoned by the governor to investigate the loss of the galleon “Encarnación,” and “entrusting the Palapag enterprise to Captain Ginés de Rojas—a brave soldier, but one who had little reputation and affection among the soldiers, who regretted that order exceedingly, and would have returned home had they been able. To such an extent does the reputation of the leader further any enterprise.”]

Don Ginés de Rojas assembled the thirteen oared vessels and the two champans, in the latter of which he stowed the food. Likewise the fleet of Zamboanga came up with four caracoas and some Spaniards, and four hundred Lutaos; these are Indians of that region who have been recently converted to our holy faith from the errors of the cursed sect of Mahomet, by the efforts and toil of the religious of the Society. Their commandant was their master-of-camp Don Francisco Ugbo, a Lutao, and a brave man; and their sargento-mayor Don Alonso Macobo, of the same nation. The chief commander of that fleet was Captain Juan Muñoz, the admiral was Juan de Ulloa, and the captain was Suárez, who were veteran soldiers. In addition to that succor there came from Cebú Captain Don Francisco de Sandoval and Juan Fernández de León, who brought many men from Sialo, Caraga, and other provinces. When all those forces were assembled in Catbalogan, Don Ginés de Rojas divided them into three divisions, two under command of Sandoval and León, and the third in his own charge. He ordered Captain Sandoval to go to his encomienda at Catubig, and thence, with all the men whom he could assemble, to go to reduce the village of Palapag. Captain León was ordered to go with his men through Tubig, Sulat, Borongán, and other villages—first, however, to go to Guigán, to get as many men there as possible. Don Ginés de Rojas chose the villages of Catarmán and Bobor, where his encomienda lay.

All things were ready to undertake the conquest of the impregnable hill. Nothing worthy of note happened to Captain Don Francisco de Sandoval, but the Indians of Bacor prepared an ambush against Juan Fernández de León in a very dangerous pass. Juan de León de Paranas had gone out, embarking in the river of Nasán, which is very rapid because of its great current—and among other dangerous places is one more dangerous than all, namely, a fall and cataract which is two spear-lengths in height. Consequently, in order to proceed, one must unlade the boats; and, after raising them with great toil by means of certain very thick and strong rattans, must, after suspending or letting the boat down thus, again lade it. There did the enemy set their ambush for Juan de León, but it was disclosed by a friendly Indian. Our men firing their muskets and arquebuses at that side, the Indians fled with great loss; and our men proceeded to the bar of the river, where they fortified themselves in a stout stockade. Sandoval did the same in Catubig, as did Don Silvestre de Rodas, whom Don Ginés sent as a reënforcement to Sandoval.

Those leaders, having arranged matters in this manner, continued to invite and pacify the many Indians who presented themselves. But those who were entrenched on the hill, confident in their fortress and defense, persisted obstinately in their revolt, and tried to get the other villages not to declare in our favor. Don Ginés fortified his post, and ordered each captain to do the same with his, for he had resolved to blockade and capture the natives on the hill by hunger. The natives learned from their spies that Don Ginés had but few men in his quarters, as the rest had gone to get provisions; and, having determined to use so favorable an opportunity, many of them went at night, by the river, near the land. When they thought that our men were very careless and sound asleep, they pulled some stakes out of the fortification of Don Ginés, and entered in a disorderly mob. But the sentinels hearing the noise, sounded the alarm. Don Ginés, awaking, seized his sword and buckler; and, accompanied by those who could follow him so hastily, confronted the enemy, and drove them to flight with great loss—as was judged from the abundance of blood that was seen in the camp in the morning. But it was not without any harm to our men, some of whom were wounded, although no one died. One ball struck Sumoroy on the shoulder, but only one dead man was left in the camp; for our opponents dragged the others away and threw them into the water. Don Ginés did not care to pursue them, fearing some ambush, which would have been easy in that darkness.

The soldiers grumbled much at the great caution and prudence of Don Ginés de Rojas, who thought only of strengthening his fortifications, to the great labor of those who now desired to busy themselves with the enemy, and not the trees of the forest. That rose to such a pitch that the sargento-mayor of the Lutaos, Don Francisco Macombo, went to Don Ginés impatiently, and told him that neither he nor his men had come from Zamboanga to cut timber but to fight with the enemies of Palapag. Don Ginés was not displeased to see the willingness of his soldiers to fight, and therefore, in order to employ it, he had the men called to arms, and arranged the attack. He formed two divisions [for attack] from the whole army, and left the third to guard the camp. The assault was made in two parts—one by the open road, although it was better defended by the opponents; and the other by a precipitous path which was passable for the birds alone—for it was a huge steep rock, and so narrow at the place where the camp of the insurgents was established that only a single man could enter an opening made by nature—a place called for that reason by the natives, in their own language, “the eye of a needle.” The men climbed up by that path, using feet and hands without carrying their arms; for these were carried by him who followed, and afterward given to him who was ahead; and so they did one with another. In addition to that, the insurgents had posted a sentinel there to advise them of any new move, for which a few coming to his aid would be sufficient to prevent many from effecting an entrance.

Don Ginés entrusted that difficult undertaking to Captain Silvestre de Rodas, a native of Rota, and a soldier of great renown in his time, of whom are recounted incredible exploits performed by him in Ternate. He gave him command of the Lutao soldiers, with their commander Don Francisco Macombo; for himself Don Ginés took the battalion of the soldiers who attacked the hill in front. The vanguard and rearguard were placed in command of Captains Sandoval and Juan Fernández de León. The assault being planned in that form, Don Ginés engaged the enemy with his men, with great valor, to the sound of drums and trumpets, and went up the hill with great difficulty and danger. For the insurgents, cutting the rattans by which the stones and very large trunks of trees were fastened and kept back, would have been able by rolling them down to do great damage to our men, had not divine Providence directed these missiles to places where they could do no damage. Our men went up most of the hill with this obstinacy, and the enemy went out to meet them with so great valor that it seemed rather desperation; and the damage inflicted upon them by our arquebuses did not cool their obstinacy, for they tried to throw themselves on our spears and swords in their anxiety to die while killing [others]. The great advantage of the fortress of the hill increased their courage, as it could have caused great loss to our men to fight in the open and unsheltered. The fight lasted many hours, the enemy often being relieved, for they had many brave and well-armed men on the hill. Don Ginés de Rojas, seeing that the fury of the enemy was invincible (for they were fighting more like lions than like men), and that his men could not proceed with the undertaking, because they had no further strength and were tired, and had many wounded, yielded for the time being, and sounded the retreat, leaving more vigorous experience for another day. The enemy also retired, satisfied at the resistance that they had shown, although much to their cost.

Very different was the success of the brave Silvestre de Rodas, with his Lutaos in charge of Don Francisco Ugbo and Don Alonso Macombo, who on the second of July, 1650, made the assault in the most difficult point—which was the eye of the needle in the rock, as we have stated above, through which Silvestre de Rodas was the first to go. He chose the silence of the night, a time when they were least likely to be discovered. Climbing up one by one and without arms, with the labor that was necessary, at the middle of the ascent an obstacle occurred that could have blocked so great an enterprise. That was a very heavy rain, which lasted a great part of the night, and which the men endured without the slightest shelter, but with great vigilance and care that fire for their matches should not be lacking—availing themselves for that purpose of the shields of the Lutaos, which are called carazas, and are made of long narrow pieces of wood, with which they cover all the body at the side. The rain ceased and, although they were soaking, they all resumed the ascent of the hill; they reached the entrance of the rock at an opportune time, when the sentinel, quite unsuspicious of such an assault, was absent, as he had gone to get some fire (without the company of which those Indians cannot live), or indeed have a smoke, for they think that that furnishes them with fine company. On that account, Silvestre de Rodas and some of the foremost, who were the most vigorous were enabled to enter. The sentinel returned with a brand in his hand, and when he was near perceived the bad effect of his carelessness, and believed that our camp was already upon him. He looked in astonishment, and then, hurriedly taking flight, began to cry out and announce that our men had already entered the hill by means of the rock. Not less was the confusion of all, who were quite free from the dread of so unexpected an assault. Confused and lacking in counsel, a panic terror seized them and forced them into disorganized flight, so that Silvestre de Rodas and the Lutaos were allowed to become masters of the field. Unfurling their victorious banners, they took possession of the lodgings, trenches, and food of the enemy. Don Ginés de Rojas ascended the hill with his whole army, and destroyed the insurgent quarters by setting fire to them. Having published a general pardon, those who had been insurgents before, presented themselves in peace.

The chief leader Sumoroy and his sorcerer father refused to put in an appearance, or to talk of peace. But the very ones whom he had caused to rebel killed him, and carried his head to Don Ginés de Rojas, although they had been so loyal to him before that when the alcalde-mayor of Leite went at the beginning to reduce them to peace, and asked them as the first condition to deliver to him the head of Sumoroy, they, making light of the request, sent him the head of a swine. But afterward, as a token of their true obedience, they delivered the head, without any one asking for it. Don Juan Ponce remained in hiding in the island of Cebú for a long time, but after having obtained pardon he returned to Palapag; there he committed crimes that were so atrocious that the alcalde-mayor seized him and sent him to Manila, where he paid for those crimes on the scaffold. He who had the best end was Don Pedro Caamug; for he was the first to present himself, and showed great loyalty in the reduction of the others. He continued all his life to be very quiet, and was governor of his village, where he was highly esteemed; and it was proved that he was not the one who had killed Father Vicente with his hands, although he was captain of that band. Moreover, it was found to be advisable to overlook much on that occasion, as the quiet of all the Pintados Islands, who were awaiting the end of the rebels of Palapag, depended on it.

[The following additional information is obtained from Concepción’s Hist. de Philipinas, vi, pp. 247–280:]

[p. 254:] From here [i.e., Cebú] leaped more than sparks to the province of Caraga, where there had been some causes for resentment between the alcalde-mayor and the father minister of Tandag. The father had rebuked the alcalde for oppressions inflicted on the Indians, and, perceiving that his exhortations were unheeded, he carried his complaints to the supreme tribunal, where hearing was given to them. The alcalde-mayor was angry at being prodded from Manila, and found means to take his revenge. Governor Faxardo, vigilant in defending the provinces from the Dutch, gave orders to reconnoiter the harbors and fortify the military posts; and, that he might take seasonable precautions, he solicited accurate information [from the officials]. The alcalde-mayor, in the anger that he felt, availed himself of this opportunity. He informed the governor that the fort of Tandag was in condition to make a vigorous defense, to which the only hindrance was the church and convent—a very strong edifice, which dominates the castle—and that he considered it very necessary to demolish it. In virtue of this report, it was decided in the military and fiscal councils that those buildings should be demolished, as well as all others that might be on that coast which were of like materials, in order that the Dutch might not find in them means of offense or defense. This order arrived at Tandag, where now there was another governor. Captain Don Juan Garcia did not make it known, and held a council in the fort regarding its execution, and therein was decided the suspension of the order—for, in case that the enemy came, the buildings could be easily torn down and burned, since the walls were weak and the roofs of nipa or straw—until the supreme government should make some other arrangement. Representations were made to that government of the great sorrow that the natives felt at the destruction [of those buildings], from which it was feared that if another church were not built, at a greater distance, the natives would take flight to the mountains. Notwithstanding this second information, the former order for demolition was confirmed. [See account of this measure, and of the revolt of the Indians, and of its being quelled by Spanish troops, in VOL. XXXVI, in Santa Theresa’s narrative. Concepción continues, p. 262:] This father minister[25] sent a despatch to Manila, communicating this melancholy information; on receiving it, Señor Faxardo immediately sent to Tandag Captain Gregorio Dicastillo with a detachment of Spanish infantry, so that, in conjunction with Bernabe de la Plaza, alcalde-mayor of that province, they might try all measures, even though they might be severe, for reducing the insurgents. They went to Butuan, where they established a military base or headquarters. In order to justify the severity of war, a general amnesty was published. Many Indians came to present themselves, of whom several were hanged; a few of those who came down from the mountains gained their liberty, the rest remaining as slaves. It was a wicked act of those who executed [the governor’s orders] that they shamefully broke the promise made in the name of the king, and in so august a name committed perfidy. Manila and its suburbs were full of slaves. The royal Audiencia made formal inquiry into these illegal acts, and took the residencia of the principal persons concerned in them. One was put to the torture, and confessed; he was sentenced to decapitation. The property of another was confiscated, after two years of imprisonment; and another found himself reduced to extreme poverty. He who was commissioned by the supreme government for the trial of these suits, Licentiate Don Manuel Suarez de Olivera, the military auditor-general, declared in favor of the Indian slaves, setting all of them free. In order that this decree might be effective, those included under its provisions were registered by father Fray Augustin—then secretary of his province, and known by the name of “Padre Capitan” [i.e., “Father Captain”]—who included in the list many Indians whose names were not contained in the official documents. He presented it to the governor, and asked for a mandatory decree for their liberty, which was promptly issued; and then he went with the notary through all the houses in which the Indians were distributed, enforcing the execution of the decree. This proceeding cost him many fatigues and annoyances; for since those who had paid out their money for the Indians were left without slaves, there was hardly a house where he came where he would not hear opprobrious language. It also caused him great expenses; but his efficient management of the business came out successfully. He collected all the slaves, and furnished them with transportation to carry them back to their homes and their native land. This benefaction rendered it easy for the Indian chiefs of Linao, who had left their village and were fugitives, to return to their due obedience and vassalage....

[pp. 273–281: After the rebellion was put down in Leyte], the Indians of Bisayas remained more quiet; by those so costly experiences they had been undeceived, and had learned that it is impossible to shake off the Spanish yoke, by force or by fraud; their wildness subdued by trade and intercourse [with us], they recognize that they ought not to thrust aside what produces so many advantages for them in being treated by our sovereign as his children. These tribunals treat them with charity, mildness, and justice, besides bearing with their troublesome traits and their weaknesses, without adding injury to their wretched condition.

Don Francisco Ugbo returned from the Palapag expedition wounded, and attacked by a serious malady, which was declared mortal. This commander, learning that his last hour was at hand, showed how deeply rooted was the Christian religion in his heart, although it was of recent growth; he received the holy sacraments with extraordinary devotion and reverence, exhorted all his family and acquaintances to become good Christians, and in the midst of his intense pains endured them without complaint or anger. In his testament he commanded, as his last wishes, that his property should be shared between his relatives and his soul [i.e., in saying masses for its repose]; and he died while offering fervent acts of contrition, to the admiration and consolation of those who were present.

By the death of Father Juan de el Campo the [religious] administration of La Caldera and Siocon was left forsaken. The provincial of the Society sent to that conversion Father Francisco Combes, who applied his efforts to gathering those wild natures into a social group; with this basis he undertook their instruction in our supreme mysteries, and they gradually became accustomed to a rational and civilized life. On the river of Sibuco there was an Indian named Ondol, so cruel that he would kill any person without further cause than his own whim; and this man had a brother of the same barbarous habits, who kept a great number of women in his power that he might abuse them. Ondol sought to kill Father Adulfo de Pedrosa, and also threatened Father Combes; but the latter discreetly took no notice of it, and Ondol went on, trusting to this. Consequently, before he realized it he was seized, and sent a prisoner to Samboangan; the governor there received him gladly, at seeing in his power an Indian who had made so much mischief. His brother continued to rouse disturbances, and an armada was sent against him, but accomplished nothing. This, however, warned him to avoid the blow, and he hid among the woods and hills. The guards of Father Combes seized by stratagem more than fifteen relatives of this evil man, and sent them to Samboangan; love for his people, and their danger, brought this bloody man to the church, to beg mercy from the father. The latter gladly admitted him, and proposed to him the conditions, [of his pardon]—he and all his people, who were Lutaos, must live in range of the artillery of the fort, and render service in the armada. He also obtained, by diligent efforts, the ascendency over the insurgents of Siocon. Father Combes entered that village, landing there with his men; they asked for the bones of Father Campo’s companions, which they found lying among the brier-patches. These they buried together, and placed a cross over the tomb. Father Combes took from that place a hermit, who, dressed as a woman, punctually observed the natural law, and professed celibacy; he was named Lavia de Manila.[26] This man was converted to the law of Christ, and spent the remainder of his life as a faithful servant [of God].

In Basilan, affairs were more difficult. Most of the people of that island had been subdued by Father Francisco Lado,[27] who with the aid of the governor of Samboangan had driven from it all the panditas,[28] and the vicious and suspicious characters. Only one of these was left, who by his malice stirred up much disquiet; this was one Tabaco, who incited the natives of the island to revolution. All who desired to be freed from the tribute and other obligations repaired to him, and at once found in him their patron. His faction rapidly increased, and at Samboangan it was decided to intercept this danger. Diligent were their efforts, for the very Basilanos whom it was necessary for the Spaniards to employ warned this man of all that they did; and with their information he mocked the utmost efforts of the Spaniards. An adjutant undertook a raid, with a considerable number of Spaniards and Pampangos, and burned his grain-fields; but he did not encounter Tabaco, and had to return. Father Lado went to find him, and asked him to wait for him in a certain place; the father made such representations that he succeeded in inducing this man to leave the mountains. He went with the father to see the governor of Samboangan, and gave the latter such assurances of his desires for peace and quiet that to him was entrusted the reduction of the natives. He returned to Basilan, and to his perverse mode of life—so much so, that he tried to kill Father Lado, in order to remove that obstacle to his evil designs. The father knew his depraved intentions, and fled from the blow that was aimed at him; and at Samboangan there was discussion, in a military council, of the most effective measure for restraining those seditious natives. Among the speakers was an alférez, Don Alonso Tenorio, who said that it was a fruitless trouble and fatigue to transport [to Basilan] arms and troops, since these carried with them the warning to the rebels to place themselves in safety; that efforts should be made to kill Tabaco, and the rest would be subdued, and thus this source of evil would be stopped without wearing out either Spaniards or Indians. The governor, who supposed that Don Alonso spoke without experience, and that the arrogance of youth led him too far, said to him: “Then, your Grace, go and kill him.” Tenorio was not a man to jest, or one to form speculative projects which others might carry out; he took this order quite in earnest, and immediately set out for Basilan with some companions. He summoned Tabaco to a certain place, in which he must communicate to him an important matter, which would be to his advantage. Tabaco went to the place designated, with several of his most valiant companions; and Tenorio also arrived with his friends. The Indian awaited him without fear, at seeing him destitute of forces adequate to his own; and Tenorio, having talked about the subject that had been agreed upon, said to him, in a most resolute voice, “Tabaco, unless thou desirest me to kill thee, give thyself up as a prisoner.” Tabaco, without showing any alarm, rose to his feet, holding his lance, in order to reply with it; Tenorio attacked him with astonishing courage, and the companions of both engaged in the fight. Our men killed Tabaco, and seven of his braves; and on our side one Spaniard and two Indians were slain. Tenorio cut off Tabaco’s head, and those of his seven companions, and in forty hours[29] was already on his return to Samboangan with these trophies. Thus promptly was concluded an exploit which pledged [the safety of] all the forces of the garrison; with the death of Tabaco his followers lost their courage, and the island remained entirely quiet. Such is the power of an heroic resolution. It is certain that conversions of the Moros are difficult, but those which are successful are stable; they steadfastly maintain the true religion, when they cast aside the errors of their false belief. The following instance is an edifying one, and goes far to confirm our statement. When the Joloans were conquered and reduced to quiet, the turbulent and cruel Achen—a dato, and a notorious pirate—was not pacified. He made a voyage to Borney, in order to stir up the natives there, and to make them companions and auxiliaries in his robberies. He carried with him his wife Tuam Oley,[30] daughter of Libot; the latter was a urancaya or petty king of the Lutaos of the Siocon coast, and was a Mahometan by profession. Enlightened within and from above, he had received holy baptism, and very strictly maintained its innocence. Achen became very sick in Borney, and, reduced to the last extremity, as a last farewell he made his wife swear that she would never abandon the doctrine of Mahoma. After Achen’s death, Oley began to feel the sorrows of an afflicted widowhood, and she sadly wrote to her father, Libot, asking him to go to carry her away from that wretched exile. His paternal affection made him resolve, although he was now old and feeble, to go to console his daughter. The governor [of Samboangan] tried to prevent this voyage, on account of Libot’s age, and because, as the latter had grown up in the errors of that sect, it was feared that there was danger of his perversion [from the Christian faith]. The governor therefore proposed to him measures which were sufficient for removing his daughter from that country. Libot assured him of his constancy in the faith, and in proof of his firmness, gave a contribution of a hundred pesos to the church; as it was not easy to detain him, they acquiesced in the voyage. He arrived at the court of Borney, where, on account of his advanced age and the hardships of the journey, he fell ill, and this sickness proved to be mortal. The king, seeing Libot, exhorted him to abandon the new religion and return to his former faith; but Libot remained steadfast. Then the king sent him his panditas, or learned doctors, in order to convince him; but they found that their efforts were in vain. The king was angered at this constancy, and threatened to take Libot’s property from him, make his daughter a slave, and fling his dead body into the open field. All this Libot scorned, and charged his daughter to bury him as a Christian, without using the ceremonies of the Moors [i.e., Mahometans] in their funerals, or even mingling these [with Christian rites]; and so he died, in a very Christian frame of mind. The prince took possession of all Libot’s property, and ordered that his daughter Oley be imprisoned; but she, availing herself of her many slaves, forced her way out of her prison, and risked going as a fugitive to Samboangan. The king, furious, undertook to avenge this affront on the corpse of her father, and commanded that it be disinterred; but through Supreme Providence they were never able to find it, although they attempted to, with the closest search, and they believed that his daughter had carried the body with her. Oley arrived at Samboangan safely, and soon fell ill, not without suspicion of some deadly poison. The fathers went to her, to see if they could convert her to the faith of Jesus Christ, but their persuasions were vain. In compassion, the governor and other persons opposed such obstinacy, with both promises and threats; but they could not make her change her opinion in the least. The victory was won by the [native] master-of-camp, Don Pedro Cabilin, a very influential and respected man, who pledged himself to persuade Oley to become a Christian. She listened to him attentively on account of his nobility, and because he was of her own kinsfolk and blood. With these recommendations, and his effectual arguments, that obstinacy was conquered, and she received holy baptism, to the universal joy of the entire garrison. Her godmother was the wife of the governor, Doña Cathalina Henriquez, and the newly-baptized convert took that lady’s name. Oley had an excellent intellect, and put it to good use in her last moments, continually invoking God up to her last breath. The Spaniards gave her a very solemn burial. The chiefs carried her body on their shoulders up to the door of the church, where the governor and the officers of the garrison took it, carrying it in the same manner to the burial-place, and afterward to the tomb—this magnificent display causing edification to all.

[See Santa Theresa’s account (in VOL. XXXVI) of one of the outer waves of this insurrection, that among the Manobos of Mindanao.]

In Pampanga and Pangasinan; 1660–61

[The following account of this revolt is taken (partly in synopsis) from Diaz’s Conquistas, pp. 568–590. These events are also related in Santa Cruz’s Hist. Sant. Rosario, pp. 331–341; Murillo Velarde’s Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 253b–256; Concepción’s Hist. de Philipinas, vii, pp. 9–35; and Ferrando’s Hist. de los PP. Dominicos, iii, pp. 67–74.]

[p. 568:] All the ten years of the government of the prudent and magnanimous governor Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara were a melancholy period of troubles and misfortunes, greater and more continual than these islands had ever before suffered; and without doubt they would have been more painful and intolerable if they had not been ameliorated and diminished by the discretion, affable behavior, and clemency of this great governor—so that it seems as if divine Providence (or, in heathen phrase, Fortune) had trained Don Sabiniano for a governor in such times. [Diaz then enumerates several of these disasters, notably the losses of richly-laden galleons.]

[p. 571 et seq.] So frequent were these losses that Don Juan Grau de Monfalcón, procurator in Madrid for the city of Manila, in a curious treatise which he presented to the royal and supreme Council of Indias makes a computation of them for sixty-five years, and finds that only fifteen of these were exempt from such misfortunes. But they were almost continual in this calamitous term of office, although Don Sabiniano met all these disasters with serenity and steadfastness, and apparently with cheerfulness; this he did through prudence, in order that the sorrow [of the people] might not extend to despair.... But no art could long veil so much misery. The more warlike provinces of these islands ascertained the unusual events which had caused our forces to be so small, however much prudence dissimulated these; and they sought to avail themselves of so good an opportunity, deeming it a suitable time for recovering their liberty, a gift of priceless value. Subjugation is always a matter of coercion, and this in turn needs other and greater violence that it may repress this natural inclination; and in natives whose condition makes them abject this desire increases more vehemently. They did not realize that the Spaniards had freed them from the harsh captivity of their barbarous tyranny, transferring them to an honorable subjection which made them more the masters of their liberty, because these rebels had not endured that tyranny. They came to know our lack of strength, and from that passed to despising it; they presumed more on their own strength than they ought, and rashly went on, without consideration, looking only at the end and forgetting the means [to attain it].

The first who decided to try fortune by experience were the Pampangos, the most warlike and prominent people of these islands, and near to Manila. [Their rebellion was] all the worse because these people had been trained in the military art in our own schools, in the fortified posts of Ternate, Zamboanga, Joló, Caraga, and other places, where their valor was well known; but it needed the shelter of ours, and therefore it was said that one Spaniard and three Pampangos were equal to four Spaniards. This people were harassed by repeated requisitions for cutting timber, for the continual building of galleons, and they received no satisfaction for many purchases of rice for which the money was due them. The province of Pampanga is in our charge in spiritual matters, and there we have sixteen convents and doctrinas, among the best which there are in this field of Christianity. The convents are: Bacolor (which is the head of them all), Baua, Lubao, Sexmoan, Betis, Porac, Mexico, Minalin, Macabebe, Apalit, Candava, Arayat, Magalang, Gapan, and Santor. Then in the hill-country beyond these places we have large missions of warlike peoples who are being converted to our holy faith, called Italones, Abacaes, and Calonasas, and Ituríes, and various others, who have been induced to settle in several villages. These are continually increasing, and we expect in God that they will attain much growth if it is not interfered with by subjecting them to tribute and personal services, of which they have a great horror. These are the hindrances which delay the conversions of these numerous peoples, some heathens and others recently converted; for among these tribes of low condition the appetite for liberty increases with great force—spurred on by the envy which is aroused in them at seeing the freedom which is enjoyed by other peoples as being more noble or vigorous, or because the cultivation of their mental powers procures it for them. Many peoples were conquered because they did not know their own strength until they found that they were subdued. In these islands we find by experience that in no province do the people live more peaceably than in those which received us with hostility, and in none have they attempted a change [of rule] except in those which invited us with [offers of peace]—and the most pusillanimous of these have most strenuously endeavored to throw off the curb of subjection. Those immediately surrounding Manila were the last to do so, because in them our hands had seized the reins. Some were intimidated by the contact with our power, and others were restrained by a sense of honor, seeing themselves admitted to the privilege of [carrying] our arms, and honored by the confidence which up to this time had been merited by the fidelity of the Pampango people. On this occasion they were the first who broke away, because even our esteem could not remove from them their mean nature.

The Pampangos, determined to break the bonds of subjection and throw off the yoke of the Spanish dominion, carried out that resolve with valor. In their opinion, they had just cause for this action, in the timber-cutting that was being done in their forests, in the place called Malasinglo and Bocoboco; they alleged as their first pretexts some acts of oppression committed on them by Juan de Corteberria,[31] chief overseer of the said timber-cutting—which lasted eight months, a thousand Pampango men assisting in the work, levied in the usual repartimientos. In the early days of October, 1660, the loyal population of Pampanga made their first rebellious movements—the people being exasperated against the overseers of the wood-cutting, who had been ill-treating them. Setting fire to the huts in which they had lodged, they declared, by the light of the fierce flames, their rash intention; and as leader of their revolt they appointed an Indian chief named Don Francisco Maniago, a native of the village of Mexico, who was master-of-camp for his Majesty. The post of chaplain for the said wood-cutting was filled by a religious of the Order of St. Dominic, named father Fray Pedro Camacho;[32] he made all possible efforts to pacify them, but all in vain. On this account he decided to come to Manila and report everything to Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, to whom he represented that he did not regard as prudent the idea that he must proceed with rigor against the ringleaders of the sedition. At the same time when the information of that fire reached Don Sabiniano there came also advices from the alcalde-mayor of the province of Pampanga, Don Juan Gomez de Payva, that he had exhausted all measures for restoring security. In consequence of this, Don Sabiniano again despatched father Fray Pedro Camacho with a message for those people, that he on his part would assure them of pardon and relief if they would return and resume their work. Don Sabiniano rightly guessed the burden imposed by the circumstances of the occasion; for the revolt was in one of the most warlike nations of these islands, and the garrison at Manila was drained of soldiers by the continual reënforcements sent to Maluco, and by the aid [furnished from it] to the relief that had come from Nueva España. This had been brought in the patache “San Damián,” in charge of Admiral Don Manuel de Alarcon, sent by the viceroy, Conde de Baños, and had been secreted on the coast opposite the port of Lampón; and therefore Don Sabiniano, although he put on an appearance of assurance, in reality experienced the utmost anxiety. He wrote secretly to our father Fray José Duque, who was then prior of the convent of Sexmoán, and to father Fray Isidro Rodríguez, prior of the convent of Baua, to ask that they, with the authority which they had acquired during so many years as ministers in that province, would endeavor to persuade those people to return to their obedience. Those religious labored to that end, with all the greater eagerness on account of what was risked in the revolt; but the only effect was to set spurs to the boldness of the insurgents, who attributed to the governor’s fear of them the peaceable measures that were proposed. The result showed this, for, tearing off at once the mask which they had worn, they presented themselves, armed, in the village of Lubao, under the command of the above-named Don Francisco Maniago, although many of the mutineers had gone to their own villages. Others gathered in a strong force in the village of Bacolor, closing the mouths of the rivers with stakes, in order to hinder the commerce of that province with Manila; and they wrote letters to the provinces of Pangasinán and Ilocos, urging them to follow their example and throw off the heavy yoke of the Spaniards, and to kill all of the latter who might be in those provinces. Information of this reached Don Sabiniano at night, and, without stopping to wait for daylight, he embarked in company with the twelve military leaders, and set out at daybreak for the village of Macabebe.

The governor took with him, besides his alférez Francisco de Roa and others, the following recently-created officers: Generals Don Felipe de Ugalde, Juan Enrique de Miranda, and Don Juan de Vergara; Admirals Don Diego Cortés and Don Felix de Herrera Robachero; Sargentos-mayor Don Pedro Tamayo, Martín Sanchez de la Cuesta, and Pedro Lozano; Captains Don Pedro Carmona, Don Juan de Morales, Don José Cascos de Quirós, Don Alonso de las Casas, Don Alonso de Quirante, Don Gabriel Niño de Guzmán, Juan Diaz Yañez, Silvestre de Rodas; and for his secretaries General Sebastian Rayo Doria and Juan de Padilla. The government notaries were Captain Juan Fijado and Captain Simón de Fuentes; and the aides-de-camp, Pedro Méndez de Sotomayor and Francisco Iglesias. With this detachment, who numbered at most 300 men, in eleven small champans and with four pieces of artillery, each carrying four-libra balls, Don Sabiniano began his journey; and he reached the village of Macabebe at six in the afternoon of the following day, having been delayed a long time by removing the stakes with which the insurgents had closed the entrances to the rivers. All the islands were imperiled by this war, since all the tribes were on the watch for its outcome—which, in case it were adverse to the Spaniards, would give to this [Pampango] people a great reputation, and to the rest so much confidence that not one of them would forego the opportunity for their fancied relief. A very hazardous corrective was that of resort to arms; for, whether [we remained] victorious or conquered, in any event the Spanish power would be left diminished and weakened. For, although only 200 infantry had been taken from the Manila garrison for this expedition, it was necessary that the deficiency should be made good by the ecclesiastical estate in that city—which was left in charge of Master-of-camp Don Domingo de Ugarte. As we have stated, Don Sabiniano arrived at Macabebe, a rich and populous village in that province; he came opportunely, as on that very day the people in that village had made ready their vessels and weapons to go to join the mutineers. Those of Macabebe received the governor with affected friendliness, the presence of the Spaniards so well armed having taken away their courage; and all their anxiety was to hide the tokens of their disorder. The governor was lodged in the house of Don Francisco Salonga, as it was the best in the village, although the convent was offered to him by father Fray Enrique de Castro (who was its prior), observant of the civilities requisite to guests so honored, although unexpected. He also endeavored that all the women should be kept out of sight, so that the wanton conduct of the soldiers might not give any occasion for new dangers; and Don Sabiniano gave the men strict orders, with heavy penalties for the transgressors, so that they might not render the Spanish name more odious through fault of ours. This unexpected arrival diverted the course of the resolution made by the Macabebe natives, and therefore they revoked it, dissimulating with affected protestations of loyalty; but those who were found with arms did not neglect to hasten to hide their weapons, in order that their recent inconstancy might not render suspicious, by so manifest a token of rebellion, the loyalty which their respectful behavior pledged. Don Sabiniano well understood it all, but, feigning affable manners, and careful to show confidence, he made a virtue of the occasion. The obsequious solicitude of the Macabebe men rendered doubtful the resolution of the others, who in the village of Apalit took away the despatches that had been given to Don Agustin Pimintuan, the intended ambassador of the rebels for conspiring in the provinces of Pangasinán and Ilocos, their near neighbors—fearing that he who bore them would place them in the hands of the governor, that he might with the names of the conspirators blot his own from the list of the traitors. All were afraid at the so close proximity of the governor, imagining that they already had upon them the entire Spanish power, which discouraged the former ardor of all. It was worth much to Don Sabiniano that he had made sure of one individual, named Don Juan Macapagal, a chief of the village of Arayat, since it was necessary to pass through there to reach the province of Pangasinán; and, this being assured, we were free from the danger that the Indians of the two provinces might unite their forces. Don Sabiniano wrote a letter to Don Juan Macapagal, in which, assuming his fidelity to his Majesty, he ordered that chief to come to confer with him at Macabebe. Don Juan Macapagal immediately left his home, and, passing through the camp of the rebels, went to assure Don Sabiniano of his obedience, offering his life in the service of his Majesty. Don Sabiniano treated him with great kindness, accompanied with promises [of reward], with which the fidelity of Macapagal was easily secured. Don Sabiniano made him master-of-camp of his people, and, as pledges for his constancy, asked him for his children and wife, on the pretext of assuring in Manila their safety from the rebels—thus mingling his confidence with measures of suspicion, but veiling this with pretexts of protection. The Pampango, quite contrary to what was believed, accepted this so harsh condition; but when once the resolution of a nobleman has been declared, any alteration brings in greater distrust. Don Sabiniano sent Captain Nicolás Coronado with twenty-five soldiers, ordering him to construct a fort in Arayat, as was afterward done, and also to hasten the coming of the wife and children of Macapagal. [The mutineers send an envoy to Macapagal to secure his support, but he kills the envoy and compels his followers to turn back.] The chiefs and leaders of the mutiny were already finding that their followers had grown remiss, and the courage of those who supported them had diminished, and they despaired of the constancy of these. They were still more depressed by the news which they received of the extreme honors which the governor paid to the wife and children of Don Juan Macapagal—sending them to Manila with great distinction, and entrusting them to the gallant care of General Don Francisco de Figueroa, the alcalde-mayor of Tondo—and of their entertainment and kind reception, in which they were served with a display beyond what their condition and nature required. At this demonstration the envy of the rebels guessed the superior position to which Macapagal’s fidelity would raise him, above all those of his people. By the honors paid to this chief, the governor allured the ambition of the rest, and introduced discord in order to separate by craft that body which ambition held together. Our religious availed themselves of this opportunity, and like thieves in the house, since they understood the natural disposition of the Indians, they neglected no occasion to persuade some and allure others with promises—an endeavor which, although the governor had not charged it upon them, they prosecuted with great earnestness, on account of the great risk which was incurred by the Christian church in such disturbances. All the ministers of that province accomplished much, especially the father definitors Fray José Duque and Isidro Rodríguez, also Fray Jose de Vega (the prior of Guagua), Fray Andres de Salazar, and Fray Enrique de Castro, and others—whom those natives reverenced, as their abilities deserved. Soon the results of these efforts became available; for the chief promoters of the rebellion, finding the courage of their followers so weakened, began to search for paths for their own safety. They despatched our father Fray Andrés de Salazar with a letter to Don Sabiniano, in which they alleged, as an excuse for the disturbance, the arrears of pay which were due them for their services, together with the loans of their commodities which had been taken to Manila for the support of the paid soldiers; they entreated his Lordship to command that these dues be paid, so that their people, delighted with this payment and therefore laying aside their fury, could be disarmed by their chiefs and sent back to their homes. Don Sabiniano allowed himself to be influenced by the arguments which they placed before him, considering that the anger of the people is not easily quenched by resorting to another force, and so he agreed to grant them a part of what they demanded; and they were pacified by his paying some part of the debt—although the authorities must contract fresh obligations to do this, as the royal treasury was exhausted on account of not having received even the interest on the money which had been landed at a place one hundred leguas from Manila. In view of this, the governor offered them 14,000 pesos, on account of what was due them, which amounted to more than 200,000 pesos. For this he sent his secretary, General Sebastian Rayo Doria, to authorize two other commanders, Generals Juan Enriquez de Miranda and Felipe de Ugalde, to establish peace and publish the general amnesty for the past which he granted to all that people. When the writ of amnesty was drawn up, and the words were repeated to them in their own language by the amanuensis (who was one of the Pampango tribe), in reading to them these words, “In the name of his Majesty I grant pardon, for the sake of avoiding all bloodshed,” he altered the sense of this sentence, telling them the very opposite [of what it said]. Then, slipping out of the conference, he went among the crowd to tell them [this false statement], and from this resulted fresh disturbances. The effect of this was the detention of our generals as prisoners, and the choice of a new head, or master-of-camp, for the mutiny, Don Nicolás Mañago—who immediately issued a proclamation that on the following day all should be on hand, with their arms ready for use. That day’s interval gave opportunity for the labors of our religious, who did everything in their power to undeceive the people and dispel the error under which they were laboring—making known to them the true meaning of the terms of the amnesty; and thereupon those timid creatures began to grow calm. Nor was the governor negligent meanwhile; for, as soon as he was informed of the condition of the generals whom he had sent, he commanded that the drums should immediately call the troops to arms, and they should move against the rebels—for his very desire for peace had made him keep his forces in readiness and at their stations; but, as a good officer, he knew that the most suitable means of securing an honorable peace is to make more formidable the preparations for war. The troops—[as yet] in peace, but well armed—were encamped very near the rebels; they traveled through the open country, as is possible in the settled part of that province (which is all rivers and bayous), conveyed in boats that were adequate for their numbers. The mountain route was taken by Captain Don Luis de Aduna and Don Sebastian Villareal with the cavalry, in order to embarrass the enemy’s retreat, and deprive them of their accustomed refuge, which is the mountains. Don Juan Macapagal, who with loyal ardor took the field in his Majesty’s service, was sent to his own village of Arayat, that he might, in conjunction with the people from the farms about that village, prevent the enemy from using that route to go to Pangasinán—a matter which caused the governor much anxiety, as those natives are warlike. On the same day, at sunset, Don Sabiniano met his secretary, General Sebastian Rayo Doria, whom the rebels had sent back with entreaties, that he might delay the just wrath of his Lordship, and they accompanied these with submissions and offerings. Most of our success in quieting this second revolt is due to the many efforts made by the fathers who were ministers in that province, not only with the common rebels but with their leaders—offering to the former amnesty, and to the latter rewards, on the part of his Majesty. With only the near approach of the army, its march being directed toward the rebels, and with no other writ of requisition than its fearful reputation which threatened them with chastisement, affairs assumed another guise; and those who before looked at any plan for peace with distrust now solicited it, having lost their expectation of any more favorable arrangement.

As Don Sabiniano understood the desire which led them, he spoke to them with affected severity, and despatched a courier to give them orders that they must immediately send him the two generals (whom they had detained to secure a settlement favorable to their fears), with their weapons, furnishings, and clothing, without a thread being missing. He said that if any one of these articles should be lacking, a duel would be enacted in honor of it, which would be satisfied [only] with the fire from weapons that were already intolerable in the hands [of the soldiers]; and that, if their valor could ill endure the bridle of clemency so ill recompensed, if they did not accept it he would now proceed to exchange it for severity. At the distance of a few paces the courier met Generals Sebastian Rayo Doria and Juan Enriquez de Miranda, whom the rebels had set at liberty through the persuasions of the father ministers. As their fear was not quieted by any means whatever, they made haste to the safety which imagination suddenly presented to them; they feared that the illegal detention of the Spanish generals would add fire to our indignation. The governor, seeing our honor thus satisfied, and discretion triumphant, turned to the alcalde-mayor of that province, and told him that on the following day he must surrender to him its chief men. Those who were present looked at one another in surprise, wondering that the governor should not know the condition in which the chiefs still were, united and armed in so great a number that their submission was not to be expected at a mere summons. It is a fact that in the excuses which the chiefs had given for their resolution they cast the blame on the villages, attempting thus to confuse their own malice with [that of] the multitude. Accordingly, it was expedient that the governor should follow their usage, by making them think that he had not fathomed their purposes, so that they could not guess that he was dissimulating. The result corresponded to the ingenious scheme, skill obtaining what guile had concealed. For the chiefs, seeing that their excuses were so readily received, attempted to carry them further; and therefore at one o’clock at night they arrived, with all the people of the revolted villages, in eighty vessels, at the village of Macabebe. The military officers felt anxiety, not only at their coming at a suspicious hour of the night, but at the multitude, a great impediment to negotiations for peace; in view of this the governor deferred until the next day giving them audience. But as there are cases in which confidence is safer than mistrust, especially when one is intent on giving security to distrust and calming fear, the governor commanded that all should enter his presence, and that our armada and troops should, without any outcry or demonstration of anxiety, watch very attentively the actions of these people. It was the effect of fear, which is with difficulty laid aside when conscience itself accuses, that these rebels came armed to capitulate, concealing by the submission that they tendered the cunning with which they acted. Many things have to be tolerated in an enemy when there are certain expectations of gaining one’s end. The governor overlooked their being armed, and granted what they asked; and his efforts succeeded in allaying the fears of those people. He commanded the chiefs to make the people go away, so that they might resume their industries; and, in testimony of the fidelity which their authority guaranteed in the common people, he ordered them to continue sending the men necessary for the timber-cutting for the galleons, the only source of life for these islands. The multitude gladly took their departure, and the governor, although he was victorious and armed, did not choose for that time that the chiefs who had incited the rebellion should make amends for their fault; instead, he granted them all that they asked, and afterward talked with them quite familiarly—endeavoring to convince their minds, although he saw their strength conquered at his feet. To the chiefs who were humble and repentant he said: “I cannot deny that in demanding the payment of what was due you, you asked what was just; but as little can you deny that you did not ask it in a just way. Not only because, when the manner in which you act must be so costly both to yourselves and to the king, he who solicits justice by such means is the aggressor, more cruel than is justice, perverting peace and introducing war (in which this virtue [of justice] is always lacking), but because in war all the wealth that one had intended to increase is destroyed; and it is more cruel than kind to employ, in order to show anger at the wealth which recognizes a debt, what will cause the ruin of property and lives. Who has ever grown rich through war? and who has not lost in war that which in peace he held secure? Many are they who with the wealth that they possessed had not yet been able to attain the success at which they aimed; and those who had attained it were subjected to a lamentable misery—the villages burned, the countries depopulated, and their customs trampled under foot. It is not, then, justice to bring in general ruin as the price of so limited an expectation, which vanishes through the very means by which it is secured. If this mode [of obtaining what you demand] is so harsh, your purpose is no less unjust. You make an arrogant demand upon the king, when you know that he cannot pay you; and in order to expedite it you oblige him to incur greater expenses, thus doing more to render his efforts impossible. Ignorance may serve other provinces as an excuse, but not you, whom our continual intercourse with you has rendered more intelligent. You know very well the scantiness of the relief which has come from Nueva España during my term of office; and you are not ignorant of the unavoidable expenses which this government is obliged to meet for the preservation of the country, which much exceed the aid received. One galleon alone demands half of the money, even when the wages and other expenses are reduced to what is absolutely necessary. The [expenses of the] fortified posts, which are paid for by all the native peoples, amount to five thousand [pesos]; while the aid [sent], averaging one year with another, hardly amounts to 5,000 pesos. The king has no other wealth than that of his vassals, and his own is in the amount that their defense requires, when the necessities of these islands are so great; for with you [Indians] he does not avail himself of this right, which is that of all kings and commonwealths. Many times have I written to his Majesty to ask that he regulate this matter; and from his clemency I am expecting the relief for which I have been so anxious, which I am sure he will furnish. Must his Majesty, since the peace of these islands and the maintenance of the faith in them are all so costly to his royal treasury, make up the omissions of the officials in Nueva España? Your patience would be greater than ours if your gratitude more quickly recognized our kindness in employing our forces for your defense, and our arms in watching over your peace. I ask you to consider, not the powerful enemies who oppose our forces, but the wretched condition in which you formerly lived without our arms—in continual wars, within even your own homes, one village against another; without liberty having two leguas of extent, and being waylaid by your own tyranny, without any right save might, or further justification than deeds of violence. Let me remind you of the way in which you lived; your huts were the taller trees, like bird’s nests,[33] your sleep was disturbed by the nightmare of anxiety, because danger confronted you, so near that it was no farther away than from one house to another. Cast your eyes on the Spanish infantry; consider the hardships which they endure on sea and land; and see what support they receive, only the fourth part of the wages assigned them, which still does not bring them to the condition which among your people is misery. See how they give to the king, as a loan, each year much more than this, and of much more importance—since they deprive themselves of life itself, without any opportunity remaining to them for supplying their needs. They serve as if they were slaves, and would be fortunate if we paid them as we do our servants. And finally, consider that the king taxes himself in enormous sums, for your safety and defense alone, while the rest of the nations in the world obey him and pay him tribute. They all enrich his treasures, yet he willingly lavishes these here, for you people. Understand these reasons, and you will see how little cause you had for so ungrateful a resolution. Your natives must be blamed for the ungrateful way in which they have acted, since they have shown no patience with a nation which has endured so much for you, or for its king, who has so generously spent his money for your welfare. Notify them also that I acknowledge the docility with which they have returned to their obedience, more in humility than in distrust; for I would grieve much if we came to blows, since if fighting began I could not restrain the soldiers from compelling me, against my wishes, to behold your entire ruin. You know very well that there is no people in these islands who can resist their valor in the field, and no hope could render you secure [from them]. The open country [would be] clear of obstructions, the ground level, the villages wide open; and you would have to flee to the mountains, wherever necessity guided you lost creatures, or else the ashes of your villages must be mingled with those of your bodies. I have had a greater struggle with the Spanish valor, to check its ardor, than even with your thoughtlessness [in trying] to bring you to a full knowledge of your error. Now let your behavior blot out that error, since I have forgiven you for what is past; and beware that you do not repeat your faithless ingratitude.”

Thus did the discreet and sagacious governor, Don Sabiniano, destroy the infernal seed that discord had sowed in the hearts of the Pampangos, alluring them with [the idea of] liberty, more potent than the apple of gold flung down at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis....

Don Sabiniano received all their excuses with his usual affability, and in the name of his Majesty restored them to his favor and to the condition of faithful vassals, and gave them in due form, in writing, a general amnesty. He commanded the alcalde-mayor to distribute to them with exactness and care the sum which he had, by contracting new obligations, brought for their relief; and to order them in testimony of their repentance—now that he had brought them back to their former fidelity, and as this outbreak had been [the result of] their anxiety, in grief rather than in rebellion—to repair, as before, with men to the wood-cutting for the construction of the ships. They asked from him time to repair their houses, and permission to attend to their cultivation of the soil; and this was granted, to their satisfaction. The affairs of the province were immediately put in order. The governor commanded Juan Camacho de la Peña to retire, and left as governor of the province General Don Francisco de Atienza y Báñez—an old soldier whose valor was equal to the wisdom gained by his experiences in the governments which he had held in these islands, in Caraga and Zamboanga—with orders that he must exercise vigilance in regard to every indication of disturbance, and by prudent action and kind treatment constrain the natives to prefer their own tranquillity.

He sent a despatch by Adjutant Francisco Amaya, accompanied by seven soldiers, to the province of Pangasinán, to notify the alcalde-mayor, named Francisco Gómez Pulido, of the outcome in Pampanga, in order that he might with this example be on the alert in his own province. Don Sabiniano also ordered him to communicate this information to the alcaldes-mayor of Ilocos (Don Alonso de Peralta) and of Cagayán, and warn them to keep watch on the movements of the natives, and to endeavor that the submission of the Pampangos should confirm the others in their tranquillity. Nor was the governor content with this activity only; but he sent a sealed letter to the sargento-mayor of the royal regiment in Manila, Francisco Pedro de Quirós, with orders that he should deliver it, in a well-equipped champan with twelve soldiers, to a thoroughly reliable person; and that the latter, when two leguas beyond Mariveles, should open the letter, and execute the orders that he should find therein. These were, that he should take the route to Pangasinán, and deliver the letters which he had sent to the alcalde-mayor, in which he warned him by the events in Pampanga of the danger which he had cause to suspect in the province which was in his charge, and of the watchful care that he must exercise over the actions of the natives therein; and that if any Pampangos should be dispersed through his villages—and he regarded it as certain that such had been sent, in order to form conspiracies among those natives—he should by suitable plans arrest them and send them to Manila. Having made these arrangements, the governor returned to the capital, taking in his company Don Francisco Mañago, under pretext of employing him in the office of master-of-camp for those of his tribe in that city. Under the pretext of honoring this chief, he cloaked his anxiety to remove from the sight of the Pampangos the man to whom all eyes were directed on account of his authority and power, and from whom, it was understood, their resolution took new breath; for, if their regard for peace grew weak, his prestige and authority might not be lacking for seditions—although this alone was not the sole incentive which moved them, since it was accompanied by the influence of José Celis, a native of that province, who was incited by the laws that he had learned, which had been taught to him by the auditor Don Francisco Samaniego y Cuesta, under whom he had served. At the same time he carried with him others of the more guilty, whom he attracted with the hope of greater rewards; there was no discussion of other modes of satisfaction, as the occasion did not allow them.

After the return of the governor to Manila, affairs were so skilfully arranged that the Pampangos themselves demanded that two garrisons be placed in their province, as necessary to their security—one in Lubao, to free themselves from the invasions which in that direction they are continually suffering from the blacks of the hill-country; and the other in Arayat, as a precaution against the fears which arise from the Pangasinans—and that these should be in charge of officers thoroughly satisfactory to the governor. This, the very thing that the governor desired, was quickly agreed to, and he stationed in Arayat Captain Nicolás Coronado, and in Baras (which is Lubao) Captain Juan Giménez de Escolástica, soldiers of great valor. This step was of great importance on account of the commotions (which will be considered further on) in the provinces of Pangasinán and Ilocos, the results of which were so lamentable that up to this day they have not ceased to arouse grief. Very different were they from the events in Pampanga, for in the latter province there was not experienced any death, or ravaging of churches, or burning of villages, but merely threats of disobedience to their chiefs; but in the other provinces, all these things occurred, and many of each kind.

The alcalde-mayor, Francisco Gómez Pulido, replied to the governor’s letter that the natives in his province maintained remarkable peace, and that the alcalde-mayor of Ilocos, Don Alonso Peralta, had made the same report to him; and with this the anxiety that was felt in regard to those provinces was partly dissipated. But his vigilance was deceived; for in a fortnight from that time, in the village of Malunguey in the province of Pangasinán, from some slight cause was raised a sedition which compelled the alcalde-mayor to hasten out with the soldiers whom the governor had sent him in the champan. Those first disturbances were quieted, more because the fruit of rebellion was not yet matured than because other endeavors were made [by the Spaniards]. The alcalde-mayor was more easily satisfied than he should have been with the dissembled tranquillity, and sent a report of the whole affair to Manila. However much the ashes of dissimulation hid the fire, it did not fail to make its presence known, by the smoke that it sent forth, or by the flames which arose at every breath of wind. One is wont in such case to curb caution, even though he has not yet the wood ready for keeping up the fire of his strength; but if one is sure of safety without having turned over the ashes, a fire that cannot be checked will leap upon him in his sleep.

The fire, covered during two months, steadily spread, through the hidden passage of the intercourse between different villages, until its effects became so serious that the alcalde-mayor Francisco Gómez Pulido was undeceived, and had to give up his groundless confidence. A spark flew over to the province of Ilocos, and left matters there ready for the operations that afterward were seen.... It took two months, as I have said, after apparent quiet was secured, to explode the mine which the faithlessness of the Pangasinans had covered, [and this occurred] with a fearful crash. On the fifteenth of December, 1660, this perilous volcano was revealed in Lingayén, the chief town of that province. The reason why its effects were so long delayed was the great bulk which it had acquired through the diligence of Don Andrés Malóng, his Majesty’s master-of-camp for that tribe, a native of Binalatongan. The first proceeding of mob ferocity was to go to the house of the alguazil-mayor[34] and kill him and all his family, and then set fire to his house. From here the multitude went, hoisting their sails, under the guidance of Malóng to conquer the villages—by the cruel acts of armed force gaining those who would not voluntarily have surrendered to them. Encouraged by their large following, which was hourly increasing, Malóng directed his efforts to capture by force the village of Bagnotan, one of the richest and most populous of that province, whose inhabitants had thus far refused to range themselves on the side of the traitors. The loyalty of those people proved very costly to them; for they were suddenly attacked one night by Don Andres Malóng, followed by more than four thousand rebels. They sacked the town, and after having committed many inhuman murders set fire to it, and reduced it to ashes—the voracity of the flames not sparing the convent and church, a magnificent edifice which was one of the finest that the fathers of St. Dominic possessed in that province. The father minister thought himself fortunate that he could escape with his life, fleeing on a swift horse from the barbarous cruelty of the assailants—who, on learning that the alcalde-mayor Francisco Gómez Pulido had left Lingayén in flight, flew thither on the wings of their fury. He had embarked with all his family, and with the soldiers whom the governor had sent him, in the champan of a ship-master named Juan de Campos; but, as unfortunately they could not pass over that bar on account of the ebb-tide, they had to wait for high tide, and this gave the insurgents time to arrive. Attempting to attack the champan, they found such resistance from the firearms of those within it that they had to curb their first fury; but they were soon freed from this hindrance by the malicious cunning of some Sangleys, who imparted to them a scheme for success. This was, to cover some small boats with many branches of trees, when they could safely attack those on the champan—which plan they carried out so effectively that a great number of little boats in entire safety made an assault on the champan. Those who were in it could make no resistance to such a multitude, and were all put to the sword—among them the alcalde-mayor, who did wonderful things in the defense, until, covered with wounds from arrows and javelins, and faint from loss of blood, his strength failed. The rebels killed his wife, who had recently become a mother, and his sister-in-law, a young girl, and all those in his service—soldiers, servants, and other people—no one being able to escape from this barbarous cruelty except a little girl and a little boy (the latter only a few days old), the children of the alcalde-mayor. Their lives were saved by the efforts of a friendly Indian from the village of Binalatongan; Don Sabiniano afterward rewarded him, and gave the girl an encomienda for the services rendered by her father. With this deed, which seemed a victory to Don Andrés Malóng, he persuaded himself that he had closed the account with the entire Spanish nation, his arrogant confidence believing that the Spaniards would not return there on account of their punctilious regard for honor. Carried away by his vanity, he caused himself to be acclaimed king of Pangasinán, with much drinking of wine; and he bestowed the title of Conde on Don Pedro Gumapos, a native of the village of Agoo. In order to perpetuate by might his new but tyrannical dignity, he summoned to his aid the Zambal tribe—a people who know no more civilized mode of life than the savage abode of the mountains and rocks; and without recognizing any one as king save him who, most barbarous of all, distinguishes himself as most courageous. They accepted the invitation, attracted more by the desire to plunder than by friendship, a relation which they recognize with no one. With this succor, Malóng easily persuaded himself that he was invincible; his arrogance therefore led him to send letters to all the chiefs of the provinces of Ilocos and Cagayán, commanding that they immediately acknowledge him as their lord, and slay all the Spaniards whom they might find in those provinces, unless they wished to experience chastisement from his power. He sent other letters, similar to these, to Pampanga, and especially to Don Francisco Mañago; these were seized from the messengers by the wary artifice, inspired by loyalty, of an Indian, a native of Magalang, who offered to the messengers to place the letters safely in the hands of Don Francisco Mañago. He delivered them to the commandant of the fort at Arayat, Captain Nicolás Coronado, who without delay sent them to the governor, who received them on the twentieth of the same month of December. When he opened these, he found that their contents were, in brief, to tell Don Francisco Mañago that, if he did not undertake to arouse the province of Pampanga to take sides with Malóng, killing the Spaniards who were found therein, he would send for the chastisement of that province Don Melchor de Vera, with six thousand men who were already under his command. This assertion was not a false one; for so great was the multitude of adherents who were coming to him—some attracted by the novelty, others by their eagerness for plunder, and others by inconstancy or fear—that he was able to divide his men into three parts. To Don Melchor de Vera he gave orders to descend on Pampanga with six thousand men, and conquer the villages; to Don Pedro Gumapos he assigned three thousand Pangasinans and Zambals, with orders to reduce the provinces of Ilocos and Cagayán; and he himself was left with two thousand men, to furnish aid wherever necessity required it.

This information was received by the governor without surprise, as if he had been expecting it; and on that very afternoon he despatched, to fortify the post at Arayat, Captain Silvestre de Rodas—an old soldier of experience and reputation in many encounters, in which his valor always obtained the advantage over the enemy. The governor gave him fifty infantry, so that in case Don Melchor de Vera arrived with the rebel army he could maintain his position, going out to encounter them until the arrival of General Francisco de Esteybar with the Spanish army. The latter was on the same day appointed commander-in-chief of the troops and lieutenant of the governor and captain-general, with all the body of soldiers who, under the pressure of necessity, could be detached from the scanty garrison of Manila. On the same day Don Sabiniano appointed, as commander of the armed fleet which he resolved to equip and despatch against the rebels, General Felipe de Ugalde—a man of unusual prudence, and distinguished by heroic deeds in the army of Ternate, where he was sargento-mayor. To this he added a commission as commander-in-chief of Pangasinán and Ilocos, in order that he might be able to act independently, wherever he might be, and, in the lack of a governor for those provinces, carry out their pacification through their fear of punishment. In this army went the following officers: Sargento-mayor Diego de Morales, and Captains Simón de Fuentes, Alonso Castro, Juan de San Martín, Don Juan de Morales, Don Juan Francisco. In it were also the company of Merdicas (who are Malays), and their master-of-camp Cachil Duco, the prince of Tidori; Don Francisco García; the company of creole negroes,[35] with their master-of-camp Ventura Meca; and the Japanese of Dilao. They had four pieces of artillery, which carried four-libra balls.

On December 22 General Esteybar began the march by land; on the twenty-fourth General Don Felipe de Ugalde set out by sea, with four champans and under their protection a joanga. With the former went two hundred infantry, and other troops of all nationalities, Japanese and Merdicas; while Ugalde took seventy Spaniards and some thirty Pampangos—with Captains Don Alonso Quirante, Don Juan de Guzmán, Juan Díaz Yáñez, Don Diego de Lemos; the adjutant Diego Sánchez de Almazán, Miguel Roldan, and Cristobal Romero; Captains Nicolás Blanco and Lorenzo Coronado. Ugalde carried orders to land at Lingayén, the chief town in the jurisdiction of Pangasinán, and fortify a post from which he could inflict injury on the enemy. This was compassed by the activity of General Ugalde; for, having stationed a force in Bolinao, he assured [the loyalty of] that village,[36] which had been doubtful. Although those natives had not yet committed the cruelties of those of Pangasinán, they carried out the orders sent them by Malóng; and they had captured a Spanish woman, and slain a Spaniard named Pedro Saraspe, the collector for Bolinao—which was an encomienda of Admiral Pedro Duran Monforte—and had sent his head to Don Andrés Malóng. General Ugalde quieted all their fear of the chastisement which they saw threatening their heads, and, placing the government of the village in the hands of a chief who had shown himself most steadfast in loyalty, Don Luis Sorriguen, he left Bolinao secured for the service of his Majesty. Then he pursued his way, and came in sight of the bar at Lingayén on January 6, 1661; although he strove, at the risk of his armada, to enter it against the severity of the storm that opposed him, the weather prevailed, and compelled him to make port two leguas to leeward of the bar, at Suali. He sent the joanga (which is an oared vessel) to make soundings at the bar, with orders to summon him by signals, so that he could approach with this opportunity near enough to reconnoiter the fortifications of the rebels. He discovered a large crowd of people, who made him no other reply than that of bullets and arrows; and he observed the haste with which they were building fortifications, working behind a shelter which they had made of gabions. The foresight of the general suspected that they had not closed the bar against him, and he again strove, although without avail, to enter it on the eighth of the same month. Then, seeing that the weather was steadily becoming more favorable to the enemy, he proposed to assault the village by land. This idea of his was opposed by all the military leaders, and he therefore had to repeat his attempt by sea, on the ninth; but they had hardly set sail when they encountered a messenger from the minister of Lingayén, Father Juan Camacho,[37] of the Order of St. Dominic. He informed them that the usurping “king,” Malóng, had despatched soldiers with orders to cut off the head of the governor of that village, named Don Pedro Lombey, to burn the church, and to carry the religious as prisoners to him at Binalatongan, where he was waiting far them; for with this severity he expected to compel the few people whom that governor and the religious were keeping peaceable, to take sides with his faction. At the same time, that religious related the grievous injuries, the plundering of property, and the burning of buildings, that had been inflicted by the cruelty of the insurgents, and those which must result if the above order were carried out; for then that village and the Christian church which had been maintained under its protection would be finally destroyed.

General Ugalde immediately formed another resolution, without submitting it to the opinions of other men; since in critical moments, when reputation and the common welfare are at stake, such opinions serve rather as a hindrance than as an advantage to success. He commanded the infantry to disembark, without allowing them to take with them anything save their weapons. He despatched the armada in charge of Captain Don Diego de Lemos, commanding him to contend once more against the severity of the elements [for an entrance to the river], and, if he could not overcome their hostility, to return to the harbor, and there await the result and new orders. He ordered the adjutant, Diego Sánchez de Almanzán, to enter the river with the joanga, at all risks, as its passage was so important for the security of the people against the enemy, who were awaiting them on the other side; and told him that if the joanga should be wrecked they would find him and his troops at a post convenient for securing the people from invasion by the enemy. Ugalde divided his soldiers into three bodies; one of these went ahead as vanguard, under command of Captain Miguel Rendón. The battalion was given to Captain Cristobal Romero, and the rearguard to Captain Juan Díaz Yáñez. Captains Nicolás Blanco and Lorenzo Coronado were sent forward with some arquebusiers, to reconnoitre the field. The general gave public orders to the men of the rearguard to shoot the first soldier who should retreat from his post. He was awaited at the bar by the forces of the insurgents, who supposed that he had come in the champans which they saw endeavoring to occupy the bar. By this precaution he took them by surprise, so little ready for it that, seeing themselves assailed and the drums sounding the call to arms behind them on the land, this second danger so terrified them that their defensive array was thrown into confusion; and their fear giving them no leisure for other plans, it sent them headlong and dispersed them in precipitate flight. The army of Ugalde arrived at the river without encountering the enemy, at four in the afternoon, and continuing the march, he entered the village of Lingayén at sunset, with all his men. The only persons whom he found alive there were the father ministers and four chiefs; but they saw in front of the royal buildings, impaled on stakes, the heads of Alcalde-mayor Francisco Gómez Pulido, Nicolás de Campos, Pedro Saraspe, and the wife and the sister-in-law of Pulido—which the rebels, in their confusion, could not hide. When those people rebel, and see that they involve themselves in danger, they try to lead the rest to engage in destruction, in order thus to persuade the rabble and those who are easily deluded that, if they remain in the villages, they expose themselves to the blows of the vengeance which will be executed on those whom the sword encounters. For the same reason, they try to burn the churches and kill the priests, thinking that with such atrocious deeds the crime becomes general, even though it has been committed by only a few. Thus fear, which so easily finds place in their pusillanimous natures, drives them to flee as fugitives; and necessity makes them take refuge with those who are traitors, fearing their cruelties. It was this that had caused most [of the people of Lingayén] to flee, since their hands were free from such crimes. On the same night when General Ugalde arrived, four agents of Don Andrés Malóng came, in accordance with the warning of Father Camacho which had hastened the general’s decision; they came to set fire to the church and seize the religious; and, as they did not find the men whom they had left in defense of the bar, or any one of their faction in the village who could warn them in time, they easily fell into the power of Ugalde’s men. He immediately ordered that their heads should be cut off and suspended from hooks on the road to Binalatongan, in order that these might be tokens of the severity that would be experienced by those who were stubborn in their rebellion. By this means General Felipe de Ugalde so quickly pushed his good fortune that when the military commander-in-chief arrived, which was on January 17, only two villages in the entire province of Pangasinán, those of Malunguey and Binalatongan, persisted in their rebellion; and most of the inhabitants of the villages had returned to their homes, remaining in their shelter and peace.

The commander-in-chief, Francisco de Esteybar, although he at first set out by land, was detained for some time because he halted at Arayat, to wait for the Pampango troops who were being levied for this campaign—until on the sixth day he was constrained to begin the march by the news which he received about the natives of Magalang, the furthest village in Pampanga, by a chief from Porac named Don Andrés Manacuil. This man had been snared and captured by Malóng, with eleven companions who were lying dead from lance-thrusts, and he alone had escaped. He declared that Don Melchor de Vera was approaching with an army of six thousand Pangasinans, and that they would reach that village on the following day; that it was not strong enough to resist the enemy, and therefore it would be necessary for the Spaniards, unless they received reënforcements, to abandon the village and take refuge in the mountains. The general’s reply was prompt action; he gave the signal to march with all the energy and promptness that the emergency demanded, and on the same day reached Magalang, at nightfall. There he learned that the rebel army had lodged that night at Macaulo, a hamlet two leguas distant. Francisco de Esteybar proposed to push ahead, but this was opposed by the leading officers, on account of the men being exhausted with marching all day long. The cavalry captain Don Luis de Aduna offered to go, with the freshest of the men, proceeding until he encountered the enemy, so as to ascertain how strong they were, and doing them what damage he could. The commander-in-chief gladly accepted the offer, and, adding a detachment of thirty foot-soldiers to the cavalry troop, he despatched them very quickly. The enemy Don Melchor de Vera came to meet the army, ignorant and unsuspecting that he would find it so near and in the field; and the night, the fatigue of his men, and the present hostile attitude of the people, rendered futile the activities of his spies. The troop of Don Luis de Aduna marched in good order, and, although he sent forward men to explore the road, when daylight came he found himself in the midst of the enemy, who were stretched out in a pleasant open field—nearly all of them lying on the ground, either from their natural sloth or overcome by sleep. The Pangasinans raised an alarm, uttering a loud shout, a signal with which all these peoples begin their battles, in order to arouse their own courage and weaken that of the enemy; but such was not the effect of their activity on this occasion, for apprehension awoke, without enlivening their courage, and, their fear of unforeseen danger prevailing, it made them run away in disorderly flight from the perils that they dreaded. As for our men—whether the horses, frightened by the unaccustomed shouting, could not be held in by the curb; or their riders, at sight of that frightful multitude armed, felt the natural effect in their hearts; or their ears were deafened by the hideous shouts, of for some other reason—the cavalry of the squadron turned their backs, with the same haste as did the enemy, without either side waiting to prove the danger with their weapons. Who doubts that Don Luis de Aduna, already informed of the multitude of those whom he was going to seek, had carefully considered the hazard? But it is not the same thing to look at the danger from afar, and to consider it while in the midst of it, if the leader has known danger beforehand from similar experiences. If he had fought in other campaigns, he would have known that mere numbers do not make these peoples more valiant; for they do not know how to wage war except in their ambuscades, where they are quite safe, and in the open field they cannot, for lack of military discipline, maintain battle for an instant. At last the cavalry arrived in safety at the camp, to report to their commander, General Francisco de Esteybar, without having accomplished anything worthy of note.

The commander, not only to proceed with the foresight which the remoteness of the country and the laborious march required, but to make sure that the enemy’s army should not leave Pampanga, waited there a week, going round a hill opposite, which had a spring on the other side. Don Melchor de Vera, although he had seen his own men take to flight, as he saw that our soldiers did the same thing, attributed to his own valor that panic of terror of which the incidents are perhaps noted among the barbarous exploits of these peoples, in recording the events of war in these islands. Don Melchor de Vera returned to the presence of his [superior, the] usurping king, and assured him that he had left the Spaniards conquered, and cut off the heads of three hundred of them and more than a thousand Pampangos, without losing a single man of his own. But all the exploit that he had performed was to cut off the heads of three Indians from the village of Cambuy (a visita of Arayat), whom Don Juan Macapagal had sent on business to the village of Telbán; their bodies were found this side of the village of Paniqui. What these peoples gain easily they regard with credulity and confidence; accordingly they supposed that the failure of the Spaniards to follow them was a recognition of their power. This delay, which they attributed to fear, gave them assurance; and as General Felipe de Ugalde had not yet set his troops in motion for Lingayén, they all considered themselves safe, and talked of following up their enterprise, to which they were led by their eagerness to make an actual raid on the province of Ilocos; for it was rich in gold, and its inhabitants had little courage. They were encouraged to this by the favorable result of the raid which “Conde” Don Pedro Gurcapos had effected a few days before, although he only went as far as Bauang; but now, with their troops still further reënforced, they wished to go as far as Cagayán, to stir up the minds of those natives, so that, if they succeeded, they could induce those people to join them. For this purpose, they detached from the best troops of the rebel army as many as four thousand men, Zambals and Pangasinans, and placed them under command of Don Jacinto Macasiag, a native of Binalatongan, for the new conquest—which they supposed would be very easy, as the minds of some of the chiefs there, with whom they had held correspondence, were prepared for it.

Soon Don Andrés Malóng repented of having separated so large a number of troops from the main body of his army, when, on the ninth of January, General Ugalde gave the signal for hostilities by way of Lingayén; and on the seventeenth of the same month the commander, Francisco de Esteybar, came unexpectedly with all the strength of the Spanish army. The rebels of Binalatongan had torn down and burned the bridge, which was built of planks—a difficulty which might prove an obstacle to the courage of Francisco de Esteybar; but a courageous soldier named Cristóbal de Santa Cruz, with two bold Merdicas, made the crossing easy. The latter leaped into the water, swimming, and the Spaniard walked upon their shields or bucklers; and in this way, fastening together all the logs and bamboos that they could collect, they made a raft large enough to transport on it the infantry. Malóng sent to summon Don Melchor de Vera, and in the interval, urged on more by the fear arising from their guilt than by the number of the Spanish soldiery (which, compared with that of the rebels, was much smaller), all the rebels took refuge in Binalatongan; but this did not last them long, for the two generals, having united their forces, marched forward to attack them and thus end the war at once. Don Andrés Malóng, having been informed of this intention, would not wait to confront the chances of fortune. He set fire to the village of Binalatongan, and plundered it of everything; and he burned the church and convent, the images of the saints which were therein becoming the prey of that barbarous multitude, who trampled on them and broke them in pieces, venting on, these figures of the saints the fury and madness which obliged them to retreat to the mountains. This they did in such haste that many fell into the hands of the soldiers whom the commander-in-chief, observing their flight, quickly sent for this purpose. The main body of the troops—not only the cavalry but the infantry—followed the rebels, as far as the ground allowed them to, killing, while the pursuit lasted, more than five hundred Zambals and rebels. After this the army not being able to continue the pursuit, returned to Lingayén in order to aid the other provinces wherever necessity might require. Soon afterward, troops of Indians began arriving, to cast themselves at the feet of the commander-in-chief, entreating pardon; and he in virtue of the powers with which he had been invested, detained those whom he considered guilty, and allowed the rest to go to their villages. The natives, in order to check the just wrath of the Spaniards, thought best to offer themselves to bring in Don Andrés Malóng a prisoner; and Francisco de Esteybar, having learned where this man had concealed himself—which was in a forest between Bagnotan and Calasiao—sent Captain Simon de Fuentes and Alférez Alonso de Alcántara with sixty soldiers, fifteen Spaniards, with fifteen Merdicas and creoles, and Sargento-mayor Pedro Machado of Ternate and some Pangasinans, who served as guides. They found the hut of Don Andrés Malóng, where they arrested him and his mother, Beata de Santo Domingo; they also took away a girl of ten years, a sister-in-law of Francisco Pulido, whom he had kept a captive for the purpose of marrying her. They found a large quantity of gold, pearls, and silver, which Malóng had taken with him. Carrying him to Binalatongan, they placed him in prison, under close guard. It is quite worth while to note what happened to Don Francisco de Pacadua, one of the principal rebels, who in this farce played the role of judge to the king Don Andrés Malóng. They had carried him a prisoner to Binalatongan; and, as he was very rich he formed a plan to escape from the prison by bribing the guards with much gold. He succeeded in this, and in his flight, while crossing the river, a crocodile seized him; but it did him no further harm than to carry him held fast in [its mouth], to the mouth of the river of Binalatongan, where some soldiers were on guard, and to leave him there, half-dead with fear, with only some slight wounds from the creature’s claws. The soldiers ran up to see who he was, and recognized Pacadua; they took him prisoner, and in due time he atoned for his crime on the gallows. They conveyed him to the presence of General Francisco de Esteybar, who ordered that he be carefully guarded until his punishment should be duly adjudged; for in the province of Ilocos very lamentable events were making pressing calls upon the Spanish forces—since, as will be seen in the proper place, the natives there had slain two religious.

Francisco de Esteybar was informed how, among the ravages and cruelties which the rebels had committed in the village of Malunguey, they had demolished the church and convent in order to use the planks in these for making their fortifications; and in a thicket had been found an image of the mother of God, [that had been taken] from that church, showing marks of ill-treatment, and with its hands cut off. Francisco de Esteybar went to Malunguey with most of his army, and they carried the sacred image in a triumphal procession to Binalatongan, where it was reverently deposited. It is said that the rebels used the hands of the sacred image as spoons for eating their cooked rice [morisqueta]—an act of insolence which was made known as being insurrection and rebellion against both Majesties. It is also related that they trampled on the rosaries and committed other impious acts, tokens of their apostasy. The fathers of St. Dominic labored much in reducing and pacifying the insurgents, displaying the ardor and energy in insurrection which they are accustomed to exert in their missions and ministries; but as the hearts of the Pangasinans were so cold, and their wills were so obstinate in their treacherous rebellion, they would not be affected even by blows from the hammer of the strongest Cyclop. But many withdrew from the ranks of the insurgents through the counsel and persuasion of father Fray Juan Camacho—Don Carlos Malóng, the brother of the usurping king Don Andrés, and many others—who, being tractable, in time embraced his wholesome counsels.

Thus was finally extinguished this fire which rebellion kindled in the province of Pangasinán, which threatened great destruction—although it wrought no slight havoc in the burning of the two villages Bagnotan and Binalatongan, which were the most important in that province; and up to the present time they have not been able to recover the wealth and population that they formerly had. That the outbreak of these rebels was no more extensive is due to the fact that the governor undertook so promptly to apply the remedy, sending out by land and sea officers so valiant, and so experienced in conquest—as [for instance], Francisco de Esteybar, who was one of the most fortunate soldiers who have been known in these regions. In a printed history[38] I have seen mention of this rebellion in Pangasinán with much solicitude to exonerate the insurgents, and omitting many circumstances which aggravate it. But I am not influenced by prejudice, for I do not feel it; but I am guided by the relations of it made by disinterested persons of that period, and of soldiers who took part in the said reduction. Some of these are still alive, among them Captain Alonso Martín Franco, who was present in all the revolutions, those of Pampanga, Pangasinán, and Ilocos, and gives an account of all the events above mentioned and of those which are related in the following chapters. In the latter are recounted the ravages wrought by Don Pedro Gumapos, by order of his king Don Andrés Malóng, in the province of Ilocos, aided by the Zambals, a cruel and barbarous people, who inflicted so much harm on that province that it is deplored even to this day.

Raid of the Pangasinans and Zambals into the province of Ilocos; 1660–61

[This is related by Diaz, continuing the above account, in his Conquistas, pp. 590–616 (book iii, chapters xxi–xxiv).]

That I may give a more satisfactory relation of the melancholy tragedy in the province of Ilocos, I have thought it best to defer for later mention the march of the fantastic “Conde” Don Pedro Gumapos to that province, where we shall find him in due time, and to follow the relation of all those occurrences which was sent to our father provincial, Fray Diego de Ordas, by his vicar in that province, father Fray Bernardino Márquez—adopting the simplicity of his mode of writing, that I may without exaggeration accurately describe the events of all that occurred there; for a uniform style cannot always be employed, especially when the accounts of others are followed.

On the sixteenth day of December in the year 1660, the father preacher Fray Luís de la Fuente, prior of that district, having left the village of Bauang—to which he had gone to make his confession—to go to his village of Agoo, learned on the route of the insurrection in the province of Pangasinán, and the raid of the Zambals into that of Ilocos. He returned to Bauang with that information, and communicated it fully to the father preacher Fray Bernardino Márquez,[39] prior of that convent and vicar-provincial of Ilocos; and at the same time asked permission to go up to Lamianán, which is the most northern district in that province. Father Fray Bernardino attempted to turn father Fray Luís from this purpose, telling him that it was not right to abandon one’s flock in time of tribulation—for which reason he was of opinion that Fray Luís should return to his ministry at Agoo; and in order to do so with safety he could go accompanied by an Indian chief named Don Pedro Hidalgo, who was much beloved by the Zambals. Father Fray Luís was as willing as prompt to comply with his superior’s wishes; but Don Pedro Hidalgo answered that it was not proper to expose father Fray Luís’s life to so evident a risk; and that it was better that he himself should first go to ascertain in what condition affairs were in the village of Agoo. This opinion of Don Pedro was approved by father Fray Bernardino, who thereupon gave permission to father Fray Luís to make his journey to Laminián. He set out for that place on the seventeenth of December, 1660, in company with a Spanish tax-collector named Juan de Silva, who had come [to Bauang] to escape the fury of the rebels in the province of Pangasinán.... On the sixteenth, father Fray Luís had warned Captain Aguerra and the alcalde-mayor of the province of Ilocos, Don Alonso de Peralta, of the disturbed condition in which those districts were; and on the same day a letter went by way of Bauang from Don Andrés Malóng, who styled himself king of Pangasinán. The letter was written to all the Indian chiefs of the provinces of Ilocos and Cagayán, and he advised them therein to take up arms and slay all the Spaniards, as he had done in his kingdom of Pangasinán; and declared that if they did not do so, he would go thither with his soldiers and punish them as disobedient.

On the day of the Expectation of our Lady, which they reckon the eighteenth of December, father Fray Bernardino Márquez, while in his church at Bauang ... [was warned of the approach of the Zambals]. He found at the door of the church two Indian chiefs of that village, one of whom was named Don Juan Canangán; they told him not to be afraid, as they were there determined to defend the father from the fury of the Zambals, who were already near, even if it cost them their lives.... While he was saying mass, the Zambals arrived; their leader or captain was he who had been titled “Conde,” a native of the village of Agoo and married in Binalatongan, named Don Pedro Gumapos, who had been an associate of Don Andrés Malóng in that insurrection. The Zambals waited very quietly for the father to finish saying mass; and when he had returned thanks and begun to say the prayers, a message came to him from Don Pedro Gumapos asking permission to kiss his hand. Father Fray Bernardino gave it, and Gumapos came up accompanied by Zambals and Negritos, armed with balazaos[40] and catanas. He kissed father Fray Bernardino’s hand, and told him absurd things about his rebellion against the Spaniards, and at the same time he asked permission for his soldiers to search the convent, to see if any Spaniard were concealed there. Father Fray Bernardino, certain that no one was there, told him that he might do as he pleased; Gumapos ordered his companions to make the search, and if they met any Spaniard to kill him. The Zambals carried out this order of Gumapos, and in the course of the search looted whatever there was in the convent. While this was being done, Gumapos remained talking with father Fray Bernardino Márquez; and, when he asked where was father Fray Luís de la Fuente, father Fray Bernardino answered that he had gone up to Bagnotan to make his confession. Gumapos replied to this that he had come to kill Fray Luís, unless father Fray Bernardino would ransom him for 300 pesos. To this audacious proposition the father answered that he had not so much money, and that Gumapos should therefore take his life, or carry him away as a slave, and let father Fray Luís go. Gumapos replied to this that no injury of any kind would be done to the father, for he himself would rather suffer such harm in his own person; but this was no virtue of Gumapos, but [the result of] an order given to him by his little king Don Andrés Malóng, who was very fond of father Fray Bernardino Márquez.

[Gumapos orders the headman of Bauang to go after Fray Luís with a troop of Indians, Zambals, and Negritos; they kill the Spaniard who accompanies him, and carry the father back to Bauang. Gumapos, after vainly trying to exact a ransom from the friar, orders the Indian to kill him; but they take pity on him, and collect among themselves the sum of eight and a half taes of gold, “the greater part of this being given by Doña María Uañga, chieftainess of the visita of Balanac.” Finally Gumapos imprisons both the religious in a cell, where they remain under guard until the rebels go away.] All the time while the Zambals remained in Bauang, they were engaged in plundering and robbing the poor Indians, and did all the damage that they could. The religious emerged from their prison, half-dead from weakness, for they had remained almost three days without eating or drinking; but the Zambals had left nothing in the convent, and the religious therefore had to send to the Indians to beg food. That day father Fray Bernardino wrote a letter to father Fray Juan de[41] Isla, the commissary of the Inquisition in that province and his visitor, entreating him to notify the bishop—who then was bishop of Nueva Segovia, the illustrious Don Fray Rodrigo de Cárdenas, belonging to the Order of St. Dominic, and a native of Lima; a man who excelled in virtue as well as in learning—and that both of them should ask the alcalde-mayor, Don Alonso de Peralta, for the aid which those districts of Bauang and Agoo so greatly needed.

On the following day, the twentieth of December, nearly all the people in the village of Bauang confessed and received communion, most of those who had taken part in the murder of the Spaniard Juan de Silva doing penance—especially the headman, who, as he had a very quiet and peaceable disposition, had been constrained by fear of Gumapos to assist in such a crime. The fathers were greatly edified by the Christian spirit of the Indians, which is so great in this province of Ilocos. Father Fray Luís pursued his journey to Lamianán, accompanied by a native named Don Dionisio Maricdín—a friendly act which no other Indian is known to have performed on that occasion, as being disobedient to the orders of “Conde” Don Pedro Gumapos, of whom all had conceived so great fear. For this service he was afterward rewarded by General Sebastián Rayo Doria, who made the said Don Dionisio Maricdín sargento-mayor of the villages of Aringuey, Bauang, and Agoo, on July 5, 1661. Father Fray Luís reached the bar of Purao, and found there Alférez Lorenzo Arqueros, alguazil-mayor and deputy of the alcalde-mayor of the province of Ilocos; he had come with a troop of Indians from that province to set free the fathers, Fray Bernardino and Fray Luís, from the power of the Zambals. They all came to Bagnotán, from which place they notified father Fray Bernardino, who was in Bauang.

In consequence of the repeated advices of Zambal raids into Ilocos, the alcalde-mayor, Don Alonso de Peralta, called a council of war at Vigan, to provide suitable measures for averting the many dangers which were threatening the province. At this council were present the bishop of Nueva Segovia, Don Fray Rodrigo de Cárdenas, the father visitor Fray Juan de Isla, and all the Spaniards; and it was decided that the alcalde-mayor should go in person to the succor of those districts infested by Zambals, accompanied by father Fray Gonzalo de la Palma and father Fray José Polanco.[42] The lord bishop was to remain in Vigan, in company with father Fray Juan de Isla, with the charge of sending a troop of Ilocan and Cagayan Indians who were being levied, and of taking such other measures as might prove desirable. In order to render aid and confront the Zambals as quickly as possible, the alcalde-mayor sent ahead Alférez Lorenzo Arqueros, with such men as could be collected in so short a time; and soon Don Alonso de Peralta followed him, [with troops] lightly equipped [a la ligera], accompanied by the two fathers, Fray Gonzalo and Fray José, as far as Namacpacán, the first village of the province of Ilocos.

I have already related how father Fray Bernardino Márquez had remained at Bauang, where he received notice of the arrival of Lorenzo Arqueros at Bagnotán for the succor of those districts; and at the same time he had very accurate information that the Zambals were planning to make a second raid on the province of Ilocos. He immediately warned Lorenzo Arqueros of this, who was still at Bagnotán—asking that officer to go down to Bauang, if he thought it best, that he might from a nearer station check the designs of the Zambals. Father Fray Bernardino continued to receive reliable advices of the coming of the Zambals, and on that account decided one night to leave Bauang in a boat, with six Indians as a guard, to go in search of Lorenzo Arqueros. At the cost of much hardship the father found him near the visita of Dalangdang, on his march toward Bauang; the father joined the troop of Lorenzo Arqueros, and they continued the march to Bauang. They arrived there at daybreak, but found the village without inhabitants, because for fear of the Zambals they had fled to the woods.

Lorenzo Arqueros ordered his men to beat the drums, and soon the village was full of people. Father Fray Bernardino talked to the Indians, and sent notice of this aid [just received] to the village of Agoo. Those people replied by informing him that the Zambals were ready to make a second raid; and that in any case the Spaniards ought to see that Don Miguel Carreño was hanged. He was a native of the visita of Aringuey, and the father of Don Pedro Gumapos, the head of the conspirators, to whom he communicated all the operations of the loyal Indians. In consequence of this advice, Lorenzo Arqueros ordered Master-of-camp Don Lorenzo Peding, a valiant Ilocan, to go with a hundred men to arrest Don Miguel Carreño. [Carreño is seized and hanged; the Zambals of his command, dispirited by losing him, are defeated and take to flight.]

Lorenzo Arqueros reported all this to his captain the alcalde-mayor, Don Alonso de Peralta, who was still at Namacpacán—asking at the same time that he would come to his aid, since he knew with certainty that the Zambals, with much larger numbers, were coming in search of him. At this, Don Alonso de Peralta resolved to go in person to the succor of his lieutenant; but this resolution was opposed by the fathers, not only because it was not right for him to go on so important a relief expedition with only six or seven Spanish mestizos, who accompanied him, but also because he ought not to leave his jurisdiction, which extended only as far as Namacpacán. They told him that it would be better to wait for the soldiers whom the bishop was to send from Vigan, so that he could with this reënforcement go to look for the enemy; but the alcalde-mayor, urged on by the letters of Lorenzo Arqueros, and, besides, encouraged by the latter’s previous success, pursued his resolution, and marched for Bauang, accompanied by father Fray José Blanco[43] and father Fray Gonzalo de la Palma. As soon as he encountered Lorenzo Arqueros, he ordered the latter to set out for the village of Agoo, to succor Master-of-camp Don Lorenzo Peding. [Arrived at Agoo, Arqueros finds the Zambals in sufficient force to render more aid necessary; and his urgent request brings Peralta to Agoo. The latter brings with him two jars [tibores] of gunpowder, which had been kept in the convent at Bauang. Arqueros advises Peralta to retreat, since their auxiliaries are all undisciplined, and the Ilocans somewhat timid, while the enemy are superior in numbers—having more than five thousand men, while the Ilocans did not exceed one thousand five hundred. Peralta refuses to do this, especially as the Ilocans have firearms, “which the Zambal so greatly dreads.” The Ilocans go, without orders, across the river, to form an ambush against the foe; Arqueros goes to their aid, followed by Peralta. “The fathers disguised themselves, fearing that the Zambals, if they should be victorious, would, angered by having seen fathers in battle, slay the Dominican fathers of the province of Pangasinán, who were in their power.” At daybreak the enemy come to the attack; the Ilocans are soon overcome by fear, and take flight, neither the officers nor the friars being able to restrain them. Don Lorenzo Peding dies bravely fighting, after having slain many of his assailants; and all the guns and other weapons, and the gunpowder, of the Ilocans are captured by the Zambals. Peding’s death utterly destroys the little remnant of courage in his followers, and they flee pell-mell, trampling on and drowning each other in the ford of the river. “The most pitiable thing was to see the children and old men in flight, and especially the women—some of whom gave birth to children, and others suffered abortion through fear, the infants being abandoned in the camp. The children were drowned, and the old people were overcome by exhaustion; all were in most pitiable condition. Those who felt it most keenly were the fathers, who aided some but could not help all, since all the people had fled.” The Spanish leaders attempt to rally the Indians at Agoo, and afterward at Bauang, but all in vain; they are compelled to return to Namacpacán, where they arrive on January 4, 1661. Finding that they can obtain neither men nor arms, they continue their retreat to Vigan. On the route, they stop at Narbacán, and order “the Indians of that village, with those of Santa Catalina, a visita of Bantay, to erect a stockade and rampart in Agayayos[44] to prevent the Zambals from passing through there for Vigán and Cagayán. He garrisoned this post with a body of Indians, in command of one of them, named Don Pedro de la Peña, a native of Santa Catalina, and continued his journey to Vigán.”]

The father visitor, Fray Juan de la Isla, had considered it expedient to command the father ministers to retreat to Vigán; they obeyed, although against the dictates of their paternal charity, which was unwilling to abandon their spiritual sons. Some fathers thought that they ought not to obey this mandate; and one of them made his way through the middle of the enemies, to go to his ministry of Taguding, and others to the hills, to which the Ilocans had retreated, for fear of the Zambals.

[Arriving at Vigan, the Spaniards hold a conference regarding the threatening dangers.] The alcalde-mayor, Bishop Don Fray Rodrigo Cárdenas, and father Fray Juan de Isla were of opinion that the most prudent measure was to place in a ship all the father ministers and all the Spaniards who were there, and send them to Manila, so that they might not experience the worst severity of ill-fortune. For, although it could not be doubted that aid would come from Manila, it was very uncertain whether information of the disordered condition of those provinces had reached the supreme government, while it was most evident that the Zambal army would soon come [to Vigan], aided, as was already conjectured, by their communication with some Indian chiefs of that province. Many forcible arguments were brought forward against this opinion by the father ministers, especially Fray Bernardino Márquez, Fray José Arias, and Fray Gonzalo de la Palma, who were followed by all the other ministers. They concluded by saying that if the ministers were to retreat, it would be utter ruin to the province, in regard, not only to God but to the king; for the Indians who yet maintained their faith and loyalty would abandon all if they had not the fathers—either through fear, or carried away by their heathen customs. In that council it was also resolved to build a fort at Vigan, so that they could resist the Zambals until aid from Manila should arrive. This work was begun, but not carried out; for the Indians who worked at it were continually disappearing. The alcalde-mayor, therefore, Don Alonso de Peralta, finally decided to give orders that all the Spaniards who were in the province—except Lorenzo Arqueros, who refused to embark—and all the father ministers, both secular and religious, who wished to go to Manila, should go aboard the champans which he had at the bar there. He himself embarked in a champan with the father visitor Fray Juan de Isla and father Fray Luís de la Fuente, the bishop promising to follow them. The retreat of Don Alonso Peralta caused great injuries to that poor province, although the rest of the religious remained in Vigán, in company with the bishop and in his house; he had at his side only two secular priests—one named Don Gerónimo de Leyva, the judge-provisor and commissary of the Inquisition for that bishopric; and the other, father Don Miguel de Quiros.

I have already told how the governor, Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, hearing at Manila of the uprising and disturbances in the province of Pangasinán, commanded that an army and some vessels be assembled as promptly as possible, so that our arms might by land and sea punish the conspirators; and how he appointed as commander of the land forces Francisco de Esteybar—a valiant and fortunate soldier, a native of the town of Mondragon, in the province of Guipúzcoa—and of the armed fleet Felipe de Ugalde, also a brave soldier, and a native of the same province of Guipúzcoa. Don Sabiniano gave them orders that, in the emergencies that might arise in the campaign, each might act for himself, without waiting for the opinion of the other commander—for this reason, that often excellent opportunities in war are liable to miscarry. The instructions of Don Sabiniano were so judicious and clear that to this, more than any other cause, is due the speedy pacification of those provinces. At this time the Zambals—who, eager to plunder the rich province of Ilocos, and encouraged by the victory over its alcalde-mayor, had continued the pursuit of the conquered—arrived at Narvacan, where they waited some time through fear of the resistance which they would meet in the pass of Agayayos; but they were soon relieved from this fear by the very man, Don Pedro de la Peña, who had remained for the guard and defense of that pass. He tore down the stockade, and very gladly went to offer them a free passage; accordingly, they went on without further hindrance. This treason of Don Pedro de la Peña was the whole cause of the Zambals being able to raid the villages of Ilocos, from Vigan on; for this post of the Agayayos is so difficult of passage that it only affords easy entrance to one man, and a horse can go through with difficulty, between two great cliffs, which are inaccessible by the summits. And since the Zambals must pass through it one by one, it would have been impossible for them to succeed in penetrating it, with even a very few men to defend the entrance. But this traitor to his country was like Conde Don Julián in España, who gave free passage to the enemies. Don Pedro paid for it with his life, on the gallows; but that province even now bewails the harm [that he caused it].

On that same day letters arrived at Vigán from General Felipe de Ugalde, written to the alcaldes-mayor of Ilocos and Cagayán, informing them of his arrival by sea for the succor of the province of Pangasinán, and of the arrival of General Francisco de Esteybar by land. On account of the absence of the alcalde-mayor, Don Alonso, the letter which came for him was opened by the bishop, and his illustrious Lordship and his companions were delighted at the good news, and full of hopes that they would soon enjoy peace; but their joy was quenched by the information which soon followed that the Zambals had already arrived at Santa Catalina, a visita of Vigán.

On the following day, the twentieth of January, the Zambals arrived at Vigán. [The bishop waits for them to come, prepared to say mass for their benefit, since they have sent him word that they wish to hear it, “a singular mode of hostility, and a still more rare mode of devotion, which looks more like craft than simplicity, although all traits at once are possible in these people.” A number of the Zambals, including their leaders, hear mass with much reverence, and even confess to the priests, saying that many of their men have come on this raid through fear, rather than their own inclination. Most of the troop, however, proceed to loot the village; the people take refuge in the bishop’s house and the church, thus saving their lives, although they endure great suffering and privation by being shut up indoors for two days, with little food or drink. Finally the fathers persuade the Zambals to let the people return to their houses.] On that day the enemy appointed Don Juan Celiboto headman of the village, and from that time the Zambals made great haste to seize as many Indians as they could, both men and women, to be their slaves. Only the sacristans had been left on guard in the church; the Zambals slew them together in the baptistery, and plundered it of all the ornaments and cloth that they found; and there they also killed a negro who tried to avail himself of the church to escape from their hands. Many Ilocans died in various places on that day—so many that when the number was reckoned it was found that the village of Bantay alone had eighty[45] dead, whose bodies they hid among the hills, so that they might not be seen by the fathers. In those villages all was confusion, outcries, the ringing of bells, the discharge of arquebuses, and shouts; and among the ecclesiastics all was affliction and grief at seeing so many calamities, without being able to remedy them.

Some Indian chiefs, for greater security, had brought to the bishop’s house the gold, silver, and other valuables which they possessed; and the amount thus brought together was so great that there was not space for them in the rooms above, and much property was even placed below the house. The Zambals cast their eyes on this wealth with eager desire, and their sentinels therefore watched very closely the house of his illustrious Lordship; this was a source of great anxiety to him and to the fathers, lest the poor owners should lose their property. The commander Don Jacinto [Macasiag] had promised to confer with the bishop about providing safety for these things, but did not keep his promise; his illustrious Lordship therefore commanded father Fray Gonzalo to go to talk with Don Jacinto in his quarters. The father did not shun making these journeys, because he lost no time on the road, hearing some confess, and baptizing others, even of the Zambals themselves. At the same time he gained the opportunity of seeing one of the champans of General Felipe de Ugalde arrive at the bar; it had been sent to reconnoitre those coasts, under the appearance of selling merchandise. Under the pretext of looking at the goods, father Fray Gonzalo went aboard this vessel, and informed the captain of the wretched condition in which they all were. Nothing was gained, however, by this effort, as the champan, on its return, was maliciously steered away from the place where the commander was who had sent it; but the ecclesiastics were left with the consolation that aid would soon come.

The Zambals came, plundering and killing, as far as the slope of Baduc, but they could not pass from that place to the province of Cagayán, on account of the resistance made by Alférez Lorenzo Arqueros with a troop of Ilocans and Cagayans. The bishop and the fathers were well aware of the greedy anxiety of the Zambals to plunder the valuables that were in the house of his illustrious Lordship—who, hearing reports of the abominations, thefts, and murders which they had committed in the churches, summoned them before him, and, when most of them were assembled, publicly cursed and excommunicated all those who should hereafter kill, or meddle with things belonging to the churches or to his house. Immediately after this, a sermon was preached to them by the father vicar-provincial, Fray Bernardino Márquez, rebuking them for the evil that they did instead of keeping the law of the Christians—for such were the greater part of the Zambal army. They listened very attentively to the sermon, much to the satisfaction of the bishop; and, as he always did when affairs of importance came before his illustrious Lordship, he availed himself of the Augustinian religious (especially of father Fray Gonzalo de la Palma), on account of the secular clergy being unacceptable to the Zambals. Nor is it to be doubted that not only the clerics but his illustrious Lordship would have perished, if it had not been for our religious, as is fully proved by letters written to the supreme government by the illustrious Don Fray Rodrigo de Cárdenas.

As soon as the coming of the Zambals was known, much silver belonging to the churches, and much silver and gold of private persons, were buried in different places; but on Wednesday afternoon the Zambals began to open [these] tombs, until no silver or gold was left. Our Lord granted that some of the church silver should afterward be restored; but all the gold and silver of private persons was lost. Father Fray Gonzalo asked permission of the Zambal leader, Don Jacinto, to dig up the silver belonging to the church of Taguding; Don Jacinto gave this, and promised that he would, for the father’s greater safety, assist him in person. He did so, as he had promised; but while they were engaged in digging up the silver the Zambals rushed to the house of the bishop, and pillaged whatever hampers and chests they found under the house—with so much violence and clamor that the religious, affrighted, took refuge in the apartments of his illustrious Lordship.

[The eagerness of the Zambals for plunder soon induces them to send the bishop and the priests to Santa Catalina, so that they may loot the bishop’s house and whatever of value remains in it. On the way they see many corpses of Indians slain by the foe; the village of Bantay is burned, only the church and convent, and a tiled house, are left standing. Arrived at Santa Catalina, the Zambals who escort the priests proceed to plunder and burn that village; and the fathers are unable to procure any food until the next day, save a little rice, and are compelled to flee for their lives from the flames—finally spending the second day with no shelter save a tree, and no food save what is given them by the Zambals from whom they beg it as alms.]

In the afternoon came Don Marcos Macasián to notify the fathers of the order given by his chief, Don Jacinto, that the bishop and the rest who were with him should go on with the rebel army, which included three hundred Ilocan Indians—some forced to join them, and others who were traitors; counting these with the Pangasinans and Zambals, the whole number was about three thousand. He brought some talabones[46] in which the bishop and the fathers were accommodated—although but poorly, on account of the few men available to carry them, and the ill-will of the bearers. On this account, and so that they might aid the bishop, who was in poor health, the religious and the priests were reduced to traveling on foot over most of the route from Santa Catalina to Narbacán—where it is necessary to go through the Agayayos, which are certain cliffs very difficult of passage.... In the middle of the [second] day they reached Agayayos, and at nine in the night they entered Narbacán. At the entrance to this village the Zambals had a skirmish with the Indians of that district, who, allied with the Tinguianes, did all the harm that they could to the Zambals. So daring were they that they seized and carried away one of the men who were escorting the fathers, and, without his companions being able to prevent it, the assailants cut off his head, and ran into the woods. In this manner more than four hundred Zambals had already died. Moreover, they had thickly planted the road from Narbacán with sharp stakes, in order that the Zambals might not use it; and for this reason the fathers suffered greatly, because they traveled on foot. As soon as they arrived at Narbacán, they notified the native governor [gobernadorcillo], (who was the father of the traitor Don Juan de Pacadua), who gave the fathers sufficient cause to fear; for between him and his blacks he held the fathers fast, unwilling to let them go, by saying that he preferred that they should be entertained in his own house, which was quite spacious, and not in the convent, which was ill supplied. The fathers would not go anywhere except to the convent, and thus the contest lasted until the arrival of the bishop; he also insisted on going to the convent, with which they gained their point; and the captain of the village went with them, to escort them and light the way. They arrived at the convent, where they found not even water to drink; then the father went out to get some, and to find also a little rice [morisqueta] for the bishop, of which he was in great need.