Chapter XI: The Philippines (2)

At the same time, King Philip abolished the supreme court. He wished to put an end to the interminable lawsuits so prejudicial to the development of the colony. Therefore the president and magistrates were replaced by justices of the peace, and the former returned to Mexico in 1591. This measure served only to widen the breach between the bishop and the civil government. Dasmarinas compelled him to keep within the sphere of his sacerdotal functions, and tolerated no rival in State concerns. There was no appeal on the spot against the governor’s authority. This restraint irritated and disgusted the bishop to such a degree, that at the age of seventy-eight years he resolved to present himself at the Spanish court. On his arrival there, he manifested to the king the impossibility of one bishop attending to the spiritual wants of a people dispersed over so many islands. For seven years after the foundation of Manila, as capital of the archipelago, its principal church was simply a parish church. In 1578 it was raised to the dignity of a cathedral, at the instance of the king. Three years after this date the Cathedral of Manila was solemnly declared to be a “Suffragan Cathedral of Mexico, under the Advocation of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception”; Domingo Salazar being the first bishop consecrated. He now proposed to raise the Manila see to an archbishopric, with three suffragan bishops. The king gave his consent, subject to approval from Rome, and, this following in due course, Salazar was appointed first archbishop of Manila; but he died before the Papal Bull arrived, dated the 14th of August, 1595, officially authorizing his investiture.

In the meantime, Alonso Sanchez had proceeded to Rome in May, 1589. Among many other Pontifical favors conceded to him, he obtained the right for himself, or his assigns, to use a die or stamp of any form with one or more images; to be chosen by the holder, and to contain also the figure of Christ, the Very Holy Virgin, or the Saint--Peter or Paul. On the reverse was to be engraven a bust portrait of His Holiness with the following indulgences attached thereto, viz.:-“To him who should convey the word of God to the infidels, or give them notice of the holy mysteries--each time 300 years’ indulgence. To him who, by industry, converted any one of these, or brought him to the bosom of the Church--full indulgence for all sins.” A number of minor indulgences were conceded for services to be rendered to the Pontificate, and for the praying so many Pater Nosters and Ave Marias. This Bull was dated in Rome the 28th of July, 1591.

Popes Gregory XIV. and Innocent IX. granted other Bulls relating to the rewards for using beads, medals, crosses, pictures, blessed images, etc., with which one could gain nine plenary indulgences every day or rescue nine souls from purgatory; and each day, twice over, all the full indulgences yet given in and out of Rome could be obtained for living and deceased persons.

Sanchez returned to Spain (where he died), bringing with him the body of Saint Policarp, a relic of Saint Potenciana, and one hundred and fifty-seven martyrs; among them, twenty-seven popes, for remission to the Cathedral of Manila.

The supreme court was re-established with the same faculties as those of Mexico and Lima in 1598, and since then, on seven occasions, when the governorship has been vacant, it has acted pro tem. The following interesting account of the pompous ceremonial attending the reception of the Royal Seal, restoring this court, is given by Concepcion.[13] He says: “The Royal Seal of office was received from the ship with the accustomed solemnity. It was contained in a chest covered with purple velvet and trimmings of silver and gold, over which hung a cloth of purple and gold. It was escorted by a majestic accompaniment, marching to the sounds of clarions and cymbals and other musical instruments. The cortege passed through the noble city with rich vestments and leg trimmings and uncovered heads. Behind these followed a horse, gorgeously caparisoned and girthed, for the president to place the coffer containing the Royal Seal upon its back. The streets were beautifully adorned with exquisite drapery. The high bailiff, magnificently robed, took the reins in hand to lead the horse under a purple velvet pall bordered with gold. The magistrates walked on either side; the aldermen of the city, richly clad, carried their staves of office in the august procession, which concluded with a military escort, standard-bearers, etc., and proceeded to the Cathedral, where it was met by the dean, holding a Cross. As the company entered the sacred edifice, the Te Deum was intoned by a band of music.”

In 1886 a supreme court, exactly similar to, and independent of, that of Manila, was established in the city of Cebu. The question of precedence in official acts having been soon after disputed between the president of the court and the brigadier-governor of Visayas, it was decided in favor of the latter, on appeal to the governor-general. In the meantime, the advisability of abolishing the supreme court of Cebu was debated by the public.

Consequent on the union of the crowns of Portugal and Spain (1581 to 1640), the feuds, as between nations, diplomatically subsided, although the individual antagonism was as rife as ever.

Spanish and Portuguese interests in the Moluccas, as elsewhere, were thenceforth officially mutual. In the Moluccas group, the old contests between the then rival kingdoms had estranged the natives from their forced alliances. Anti-Portuguese and Philo-Portuguese parties had sprung up among the petty sovereignties, but the Portuguese fort and factory established in Ternate Island were held for many years, despite all contentions. But another rivalry, as formidable and more detrimental than that of the Portuguese in days gone by, now menaced Spanish ascendency.

From the close of the sixteenth century up to the year of the “Family Compact” wars (1763), Holland and Spain were relentless foes. To recount the numerous combats between their respective fleets during this period would itself require a volume. It will suffice here to show the bearing of these political conflicts upon the concerns of the Philippine colony. The Treaty of Antwerp, which was wrung from the Spaniards in 1609, twenty-eight years after the union of Spain and Portugal, broke the scourge of their tyranny, while it failed to assuage the mutual antipathy. One of the consequences of the “Wars of the Flanders,” which terminated with this treaty, was that the Dutch were obliged to seek in the Far East the merchandise which had hitherto been supplied to them from the Peninsula. The short-sighted policy of the Spaniards in closing to the Dutch the Portuguese markets, which were now theirs, brought upon themselves the destruction of the monopolies which they had gained by the union. The Dutch were now free, and their old tyrant’s policy induced them to independently establish their own trading headquarters in the Molucca Islands, whence they could obtain directly the produce forbidden to them in the home ports. Hence, from those islands, the ships of a powerful Netherlands Trading Company sallied forth from time to time to meet the Spanish galleons from Mexico with silver and manufactured goods.

Previous to this, and during the Wars of the Flanders, Dutch corsairs hovered about the waters of the Moluccas, to take reprisals from the Spaniards. These encounters frequently took place at the eastern entrance of the San Bernadino Straits, where the Dutch were accustomed to hove-to in anticipation of the arrival of their prizes.

In this manner, constantly roving about the Philippine waters, they enriched themselves at the expense of their detested adversary, and, in a small degree, avenged themselves of the bloodshed and oppression which for over sixty years had desolated the Low Countries.

The Philippine colony lost immense sums in the seizure of its galleons from Mexico, upon which it almost entirely depended for subsistence. Being a dependency of New Spain, its whole intercourse with the civilized world, its supplies of troops and European manufactured articles, were contingent upon the safe arrival of the galleons. Also the dollars with which they annually purchased cargoes from the Chinese for the galleons came from Mexico.

Consequently, the Dutch usually took the aggressive in these sea-battles, although they were not always victorious. When there were no ships to meet, they bombarded the ports where others were being built. The Spaniards, on their part, from time to time fitted out vessels to run down to the Moluccas to attack the enemy in his own waters.

During the governorship of Gomez Perez Dasmarinas (1590-1593), the native king of Siao Island--one of the Moluccas group--came to Manila to offer homage and vassalage to the representative of the King of Spain and Portugal, in return for protection against the incursions of the Dutch and the raids of the Ternate natives. Dasmarinas received him and the Spanish priests who accompanied him with affability, and, being satisfied with his credentials, he prepared a large expedition to go to the Moluccas to set matters in order. The fleet was composed of several frigates, one ship, six galleys and one hundred small vessels, all well armed. The fighting men numbered one hundred Spaniards, four hundred Pampanga and Tagalog arquebusiers, one thousand Visayas archers and lancers, besides one hundred Chinese to row the galleys. This expedition, which was calculated to be amply sufficient to subdue all the Moluccas, sailed from Cavite on the 6th of October, 1593. The sailing ships having got far ahead of the galleys, they hove-to off Punta de Azufre (N. of Maricaban Island) to wait for them. The galleys arrived; and the next day they were able to start again in company. Meanwhile a conspiracy was formed by the Chinese galleymen to murder all the Spaniards. Assuming these Chinese to be volunteers, their action would appear most wanton and base. If, however, as is most probable, they were pressed into this military service to foreigners, it seems quite natural that, being forced to bloodshed without alternative, they should first fight for their own liberty.

All but the Chinese were asleep, and they fell upon the Spaniards in a body. Eighteen of the troops and four slaves escaped by jumping into the sea. The governor was sleeping in his cabin, but awoke on hearing the noise. He supposed the ship had grounded, and was coming up the companion en deshabille, when a Chinaman cleaved his head with a cutlass. The governor reached his stateroom, and taking his missal and the Image of the Virgin in his hand, he died in six hours. The Chinese did not venture below, where the priests and armed soldiers were hidden. They cleared the decks of all their opponents, made fast the hatches and gangways, and waited three days, when, after putting ashore those who were still alive, they escaped to Cochin-China, where the king and mandarins seized the vessel and all she carried. On board were found twelve thousand dollars in coin, some silver, and jewels belonging to the governor and his suite.

Thus the expedition was brought to an untimely end. The King of Siao, and the missionaries accompanying him, had started in advance for Otong (Panay Island) to wait for the governor, and there they received the news of the disaster.

Among the most notable of the successful expeditions of the Spaniards was that of Pedro Bravo de Acuna, in 1606, which consisted of nineteen frigates, nine galleys and eight small craft, carrying a total of about two thousand men and provisions for a prolonged struggle. The result was, that they subdued a petty sultan friendly to the Dutch, and established a fortress on his island.

About the year 1607, the supreme court (the governorship being vacant from 1606 to 1608) hearing that a Dutch vessel was hovering off Ternate, sent a ship against it, commanded by Pedro de Heredia. A combat ensued. The Dutch commander was taken prisoner with several of his men, and lodged in the fort at Ternate, but was ransomed on payment of fifty thousand dollars to the Spanish commander. Heredia returned joyfully to Manila, where, much to his surprise, he was prosecuted by the supreme court for exceeding his instructions, and expired of melancholy. The ransomed Dutch leader was making his way back to his headquarters in a small ship, peacefully, and without hostilizing the Spaniards in any way, when the supreme court treacherously sent a galley and a frigate after him to make him prisoner a second time. Overwhelmed by numbers and arms, and little expecting such perfidious conduct of the Spaniards, he was at once arrested and brought to Manila. The Dutch returned twenty-two Spanish prisoners of war to Manila to ransom him; but while these were retained, the Dutch commander was, nevertheless, imprisoned for life.

Some years afterward, a Dutch squadron anchored off the south point of Bataan Province, not far from Punta Marivelez, at the entrance to Manila Bay. Juan de Silva, the governor (from 1609 to 1616), was in great straits. Several ships had been lost by storms, others were away, and there was no adequate floating armament with which to meet the enemy. However, the Dutch lay-to for five or six months, waiting to seize the Chinese and Japanese traders’ goods on their way to the Manila market. They secured immense booty, and were in no hurry to open hostilities. This delay gave Silva time to prepare vessels to attack the foe. In the interval, he dreamed that Saint Mark had offered to help him defeat the Dutch. On awaking, he called a priest, whom he consulted about the dream, and they agreed that the nocturnal vision was a sign from Heaven denoting a victory. The priest went (from Cavite) to Manila to procure a relic of this glorious intercessor, and returned with his portrait to the governor, who adored it. In haste the ships and armament were prepared. On Saint Mark’s day, therefore, the Spaniards sallied forth from Cavite with six ships, carrying seventy guns, and two galleys and two launches also well armed, besides a number of small light vessels, to assist in the formation of line of battle.

All the European fighting men in Manila and Cavite embarked--over one thousand Spaniards--the flower of the colony, together with a large force of natives, who were taught to believe that the Dutch were infidels. On the issue of this day’s events perchance depended the possession of the colony. Manila and Cavite were garrisoned by volunteers. Orations were offered in the churches. The Miraculous Image of Our Lady of the Guide was taken in procession from the Hermit, and exposed to public view in the Cathedral. The saints of the different churches and sanctuaries were adored and exhibited daily. The governor himself took the supreme command, and dispelled all wavering doubt in his subordinates by proclaiming Saint Mark’s promise of intercession. On his ship he hoisted the royal standard, on which was embroidered the Image of the Holy Virgin, with the motto: “Mostrate esse Matrem,” and over a beautifully calm sea he led the way to battle.

A shot from the Spanish heavy artillery opened the bloody combat. The Dutch were completely vanquished, after a fierce struggle which lasted six hours. Their three ships were destroyed, and their flags, artillery, and plundered merchandise to the value of three hundred thousand dollars were seized. This famous engagement was thenceforth known as the battle of Playa Honda.

Again in 1611, under Silva, a squadron sailed to the Moluccas and defeated the Dutch off Giolo Island.

In 1617, the Spaniards had a successful engagement off the Zambales coast with the Dutch, who lost three of their ships.

In July, 1620, three Mexican galleons were met by three Dutch vessels off Cape Espiritu Santo (Samar Island), at the entrance of the San Bernadino Straits, but managed to escape in the dark. Two ran ashore and broke up; the third reached Manila. After this the governor-general, Alonzo Fajardo de Tua, ordered the course of the State ships to be varied on each voyage.

In 1625, the Dutch again appeared off the Zambales coast, and Geronimo de Silva went out against them. The Spaniards, having lost one man, relinquished the pursuit of the enemy, and the commander was brought to trial by the supreme court.

In 1626, at the close of the governorship of Fernando de Silva, a Spanish colony was founded on Formosa Island, but no supplies were sent to it, and consequently in 1642 it surrendered to the Dutch, who held it for twenty years, until they were driven out by the Chinese adventurer Keuseng. And thus for over a century and a half the strife continued, until the Dutch concentrated their attention in the development of their Eastern colonies, which the power of Spain, growing more and more effete, was incompetent to impede.

In 1761, King George III. had just succeeded to the throne of England, and the protracted contentions with France had been suspended for a while. It was soon evident, however, that efforts were being employed to extinguish the power and prestige of Great Britain, and with this object a convention had been entered into between France and Spain known as the “Family Compact.” It was so called because it was an alliance made by the three branches of the House of Bourbon; namely, Louis XV. of France, Charles III. of Spain, and his son Ferdinand, who, in accordance with the Treaty of Vienna, had ascended the throne of Naples. Spain engaged to unite her forces with those of France against England on the 1st of May, 1762, if the war still lasted, in which case France would restore Minorca to Spain. Pitt was convinced of the necessity of meeting the coalition by force of arms, but he was unable to secure the support of his Ministry to declare war, and he therefore retired from the premiership. The succeeding Cabinet was, nevertheless, compelled to adopt his policy, and, after having lost many advantages by delaying their decision, war was declared against France and Spain.

The British were successful everywhere. In the West Indies, the Caribbean Islands and Havana were captured, with great booty, by Rodney and Monckton, while a British fleet was dispatched to the Philippine Islands with orders to take Manila.

There are many versions of this event given by different historians, and among them there is not wanting an author who, following the Spanish custom, has accounted for defeat by alleging treason.

On the 14th of September, 1762, a British vessel arrived in the Bay of Manila, refused to admit Spanish officers on board, and after taking soundings she sailed again out of the harbor.

In the evening of the 22d of September, the British squadron, composed of thirteen ships, under the command of Admiral Cornish, entered the bay, and the next day two British officers were deputed to demand the surrender of the citadel, which was refused.

Brigadier-general Draper thereupon disembarked his troops, and again called upon the city to yield. This citation being defied, the bombardment commenced the next day. The fleet anchored in front of a powder-magazine, took possession of the churches of Malate, Hermita, San Juan de Bagumbayan and Santiago. Two picket guards made an unsuccessful sortie against them. The whole force in Manila at the time was the king’s regiment, which mustered about six hundred men, and eighty pieces of artillery. The British forces consisted of one thousand five hundred European troops (one regiment of infantry and two companies of artillery), three thousand seamen, eight hundred Sepoy fusileers and one thousand four hundred Sepoy pioneers, making a total of six thousand eight hundred and thirty men.

There was no governor-general here at the time, and the only person with whom the British commander could treat was the acting-governor, the Archbishop Manuel Antonio Rojo, who was willing to yield. His authority was, however, set aside by a rebellious war party, who placed themselves under the leadership of a magistrate of the supreme court named Simon de Anda y Salazar. This individual, instead of leading them to battle, fled to the province of Bulacan, the day before the capture of Manila, in a prahu with a few natives, carrying with him some money and half a ream of official stamped paper. He knew perfectly well that he was defying the legal authority of the acting-governor, and was, in fact, in open rebellion against his mandate. It was necessary, therefore, to give an official color to his acts by issuing his orders and proclamations on government-stamped paper, so that their validity might be recognized if he subsequently succeeded in justifying his action at court.

On the 24th of September the Spanish batteries of San Diego and San Andres opened fire, but with little effect. A richly laden galleon--the “Philipino”--was known to be on her way from Mexico to Manila, but the British ships which were sent in quest of her fell in with another galleon--the “Trinidad”--and brought their prize to Manila. Her treasure amounted to about two million five hundred thousand dollars.

A Frenchman resident in Manila, Monsieur Faller, made an attack on the British, who forced him to retire, and he was then accused by the Spaniards of treason. Artillery fire was kept up on both sides. The archbishop’s nephew was taken prisoner, and an officer was sent with him to hand him over to his uncle. However, a party of natives fell upon them and murdered them all. The officer’s head having been cut off, it was demanded by General Draper. Excuses were made for not giving it up, and the general determined thenceforth to continue the warfare with vigor and punish this atrocity. The artillery was increased by another battery of three mortars, placed behind the Church of Santiago, and the bombardment continued.

Five thousand native recruits arrived from the provinces, and out of this number two thousand Pampangos were selected. They were divided into three columns, in order to advance by different routes and attack respectively the Church of Santiago, Malate and Hermita, and the troops on the beach. At each place they were driven back. The leader of the attack on Malate and Hermita--Don Santiago Orendain--was declared a traitor. The first two columns were dispersed with great confusion and loss. The third column retreated before they had sustained or inflicted any loss. The natives fled to their villages in dismay, and on the 5th of October the British entered the walled city. After a couple of hours’ bombardment the forts of San Andres and San Eugenio were demolished, the artillery overturned, and the enemy’s fusileers and sappers were killed.

A council of war was now held by the Spaniards. General Draper sustained the authority of the archbishop against the war-party, composed chiefly of civilians, who determined to continue the defense in spite of the opinion of the military men, who argued that a capitulation was inevitable. But matters were brought to a crisis by the natives, who refused to repair the fortifications, and the Europeans were unable to perform such hard labor. Great confusion reigned in the city--the clergy fled through the Puerto del Parian, where there was still a native guard. According to Zuniga, the British spent twenty thousand cannon balls and five thousand shells in the bombardment of the city.

Major Fell entered the city at the head of his troops and General Draper followed, leading his column unopposed, with two field pieces in the van, while a constant musketry fire cleared the Calle Real as they advanced. The people fled before the enemy. The gates being closed, they scrambled up the walls and got into boats or swam off.

Colonel Monson was sent by Draper to the archbishop-governor to say that he expected immediate surrender. This was disputed by the archbishop, who presented a paper purporting to be terms of capitulation. The colonel refused to take it, and demanded an unconditional surrender. Then the archbishop, a colonel of the Spanish troops and Colonel Monson went to interview the general, whose quarters were in the palace. The archbishop, offering himself as a prisoner, presented the terms of capitulation, which provided for the free exercise of their religion; security of private property; free trade to all the inhabitants of the islands, and the continuation of the powers of the supreme court to keep order among the ill-disposed. These terms were granted, but General Draper, on his part, stipulated for an indemnity of four millions of dollars, and it was agreed to pay one-half of this sum in specie and valuables and the other half in treasury bills on Madrid. The capitulation, with these modifications, was signed by Draper and the archbishop-governor. The Spanish colonel took the document to the fort to have it countersigned by the magistrates, which was at once done; the fort was delivered up to the British, and the magistrates retired to the palace to pay their respects to the conqueror.

When the British flag was seen floating from the fort of Santiago there was great cheering from the British fleet. The archbishop stated that when Draper reviewed the troops more than one thousand men were missing, including sixteen officers. Among these officers were a major, fatally wounded by an arrow on the first day of the assault, and the vice-admiral, who was drowned while coming ashore in a boat.

The natives who had been brought from the provinces to Manila were plundering and committing excesses in the city, so Draper had them all driven out. Guards were placed at the doors of the nunneries and convents to prevent outrages on the women, and then the city was given up to the victorious troops for pillage during three hours. Zuniga, however, remarks that the European troops were moderate, but that the Indian contingents were insatiable. They are said to have committed many atrocities, and, reveling in bloodshed, even murdered the inhabitants. They ransacked the suburbs of Santa Cruz and Binondo, and, acting like savage victorious tribes, they ravished women, and even went into the highways to murder and rob those who fled. The three hours expired, and the following day a similar scene was permitted. The archbishop thereupon besought the general to put a stop to it, and have compassion on the city. The general complied with this request, and restored order under pain of death for disobedience--some Chinese were in consequence hanged. General Draper himself killed one whom he found in the act of stealing, and he ordered that all church property should be restored, but only some priests’ vestments were recovered.

Draper demanded the surrender of Cavite, which was agreed to by the archbishop and magistrates, but the commanding officer refused to comply. The major of that garrison was sent with a message to the commander, but on the way he talked with such freedom about the surrender to the British, that the natives quitted their posts and plundered the arsenal. The commander, rather than face humiliation, retired to a ship, and left all further responsibility to the major.

Measures were now taken to pay the agreed indemnity. Heavy contributions were levied upon the inhabitants, which, however, together with the silver from the pious establishments, church ornaments, plate, the archbishop’s rings and breast-cross, only amounted to five hundred and forty-six thousand dollars. The British then proposed to accept one million at once and draw the rest from the cargo of the galleon “Philipino,” if it resulted that she had not been seized by the British previous to the day the capitulation was signed--but the one million was not forthcoming. The day before the capture of Manila, a royal messenger had been sent off with one hundred and eleven thousand dollars, with orders to secure it in some place in the Laguna de Bay. The archbishop now ordered its return to Manila, and issued a requisition to that effect; but the Franciscan friars were insubordinate, and armed the natives, whom they virtually ruled, and the treasure was secreted in Majayjay Convent. Thence, on receipt of the archbishop’s message, it was carried across country to a place in North Pampanga, bordering on Cagayan and Pangasinan. The British, convinced that they were being duped, insisted on their claim. Thomas Backhouse, commanding the troops stationed at Pasig, went up to the Laguna de Bay with eighty mixed troops, to intercept the bringing of the “Philipino” treasure. He attacked Tunasan, Vinan and Santa Rosa, and embarked for Pagsanjan, which was then the capital of the Lake Province. The inhabitants, after firing the convent and church, fled. Backhouse returned to Calamba, entered the Province of Batangas, overran it, and made several Austin friars prisoners. In Lipa he seized three thousand dollars, and there he established his quarters, expecting that the “Philipino” treasure would be carried that way; but on learning that it had been transported by sea to a Pampanga coast town, Backhouse withdrew to Pasig.

In the capitulation, the whole of the Archipelago was surrendered to the British, but Simon de Anda determined to appeal to arms. Draper used stratagem, and issued a proclamation commiserating the fate of the natives who paid tribute to Spaniards, and assuring them that the King of England would not exact it. The archbishop, as governor, became Draper’s tool, sent messages to the Spanish families persuading them to return, and appointed an Englishman, married in the country, to be alderman of Tondo. Despite the strenuous opposition of the supreme court, the archbishop, at the instance of Draper, convened a council of native headmen and representative families, and proposed to them the cession of all the islands to the King of England. Draper clearly saw that the ruling powers in the colony, judging from their energy and effective measures, were the friars, so he treated them with great respect. The Frenchman Faller, who unsuccessfully opposed the British assault, was offered troops to go and take possession of Zamboanga and accept the government there, but he refused, as did also a Spaniard named Sandoval.

Draper returned to Europe; Major Fell was left in command of the troops, while Drake assumed the military government of the city, with Smith and Brock as council, and Brereton in charge of Cavite. Draper, on leaving, gave orders for two frigates to go in search of the “Philipino” treasure. The ships got as far as Capul Island and put into harbor. They were detained there by a ruse on the part of a half-caste pilot, and the treasure was got away in the meantime.

Simon de Anda, from his provincial retreat, proclaimed himself governor-general. He declared that the archbishop and the magistrates, as prisoners of war, were dead in the eye of the law; and that his assumption of authority was based upon old laws. None of his countrymen disputed his authority, and he established himself in Bacolor. The British council then convened a meeting of the chief inhabitants, at which Anda was declared a seditious person and deserving of capital punishment, together with the Marquis of Monte Castro, who had violated his parole d’honneur, and the provincial of the Austin friars, who had joined the rebel party. All the Austin friars were declared traitors for having broken their allegiance to the archbishop’s authority. The British still pressed for the payment of the one million, while the Spaniards declared they possessed no more. The Austin friars were ordered to keep the natives peaceable if they did not wish to provoke hostilities against themselves. At length, the British, convinced of the futility of decrees, determined to sally out with their forces; and five hundred men under Thomas Backhouse went up the Pasig River to secure a free passage for supplies to the camp. While opposite Maybonga, Bustos, with his Cagayan troops, fired on them. The British returned the fire, and Bustos fled to Mariquina. The British passed the river, and sent an officer with a white flag of truce to summon surrender. Bustos was insolent, and threatened to hang the officer if he returned. Backhouse’s troops then opened fire and placed two field pieces which completely scared the natives, who fled in such great confusion that many were drowned in the river. Thence the British pursued their enemy “as if they were a flock of goats,” and reached the Bamban River, where the Sultan of Sulu resided with his family. The sultan, after a feigned resistance, fell a prisoner to the British, who fortified his dwelling, and occupied it during the whole of the operations. There were subsequent skirmishes on the Pasig River banks with the armed insurgents, who were driven as far as the Antipolo Mountains.

Meanwhile, Anda collected troops; and Bustos, as his lieutenant-general, vaunted the power of his chief through the Bulacan and Pampanga provinces. A Franciscan and an Austin friar, having led troops to Masilo, about seven miles from Manila, the British went out to dislodge them, but on their approach most of the natives feigned they were dead, and the British returned without any loss in arms or men.

The British, believing that the Austin friars were conspiring against them in connivance with those inside the city, placed these friars in confinement, and subsequently shipped away eleven of them to Europe. For the same reason, they at last determined to enter the St. Augustine Convent, and on ransacking it they found that the priests had been lying to them all the time. Six thousand dollars in coin were found hidden in the garden, and large quantities of wrought silver elsewhere. The whole premises were then searched and all the valuables were seized. A British expedition went out to Bulacan, sailing across the bay and up the Hagonoy River, where they disembarked at Malolos on the 19th of January, 1763. The troops, under Captain Eslay, of the Grenadiers, numbered six hundred men, many of whom were Chinese volunteers. As they advanced from Malolos, the natives and Spaniards fled. On the way to Bulacan, Bustos advanced to meet them, but retreated into ambush on seeing they were superior in numbers. Bulacan Convent was fortified with three small cannon. As soon as the troops were in sight of the convent, a desultory fire of case-shot made great havoc in the ranks of the Chinese forming the British vanguard. At length the British brought their field pieces into action, and pointing at the enemy’s cannon, the first discharge carried off the head of their artilleryman Ybarra. The panic-stricken natives decamped; the convent was taken by assault; there was an indiscriminate fight and general slaughter. The alcalde and a Franciscan friar fell in action; one Austin friar escaped, and another was seized and killed to avenge the death of the British soldiers. The invading forces occupied the convent, and some of the troops were shortly sent back to Manila. Bustos reappeared near the Bulacan convent with eight thousand native troops, of which six hundred were cavalry, but they dared not attack the British. Bustos then maneuvered in the neighborhood and made occasional alarms. Small parties were sent out against him with so little effect that the British commander headed a body in person, and put the whole of Bustos’ troops to flight like mosquitoes before a gust of wind, for Bustos feared they would be pursued into Pampanga. After clearing away the underwood, which served as a covert for the natives, the British reoccupied the convent; but Bustos returned to his position, and was a second time as disgracefully routed by the British, who then withdrew to Manila.

At the same time, it was alleged that a conspiracy was being organized among the Chinese in the Province of Pampanga with the object of assassinating Anda and his Spanish followers. The Chinese cut trenches and raised fortifications, avowing that their bellicose preparations were only to defend themselves against the possible attack of the British; while the Spaniards saw in all this a connivance with the invaders. The latter, no doubt, conjectured rightly. Anda, acting upon the views of his party, precipitated matters by appearing with fourteen Spanish soldiers and a crowd of native bowmen to commence the slaughter in the town of Guagua. The Chinese assembled there in great numbers, and Anda endeavored in vain to induce them to surrender to him. He then sent a Spaniard, named Miguel Garces, with a message, offering them pardon in the name of the King of Spain if they would lay down their arms; but they killed the emissary, and Anda therefore commenced the attack. The result was favorable for Anda’s party, and great numbers of the Chinese were slain. Many fled to the fields, where they were pursued by the troops, while those who were captured were hanged. Such was the inveterate hatred which Anda entertained for the Chinese, that he issued a general decree declaring all the Chinese traitors to the Spanish flag, and ordered them to be hanged wherever they might be found in the provinces. Thus thousands of Chinese were executed who had taken no part whatever in the events of this little war.

Admiral Cornish, having decided to return to Europe, again urged for the payment of the two millions of dollars. The archbishop was in great straits; he was willing to do anything, but his colleagues opposed him, and Cornish was at length obliged to content himself with a bill on the Madrid treasury. Anda appointed Bustos alcalde of Bulacan, and ordered him to recruit and train troops, as he still nurtured the hope of confining the British to Manila--perhaps even of driving them out of the colony.

The British in the city were compelled to adopt the most rigorous precautions against a rising of the population within the walls, and several Spanish residents were arrested for intriguing against them in concert with those outside.

Several French prisoners from Pondicherry deserted from the British; and some Spanish regular troops, who had been taken prisoners, effected their escape. The fiscal of the supreme court and a Senor Villa Corta were found conspiring. The latter was caught in the act of sending a letter to Anda, and was sentenced to be hanged and quartered--the quarters to be exhibited in public places. The archbishop, however, obtained Villa Corta’s pardon, on the condition that Anda should evacuate the Pampanga Province; and Villa Corta wrote to Anda, begging him to accede to this, but Anda absolutely refused to make any sacrifice to save his friend’s life; and at the same time he wrote a disgraceful letter to the archbishop, couched in such insulting terms that the British commander burned it without letting the archbishop see it. Villa Corta was finally ransomed by the payment of three thousand dollars.

The treasure brought by the “Philipino” served Anda to organize a respectable force of recruits. Spaniards who were living there in misery, and a crowd of natives always ready for pay, enlisted. These forces, under Lieutenant-general Bustos, encamped at Malinta, about five miles from Manila. The officers lodged in a house belonging to the Austin friars, around which the troops pitched their tents--the whole being defended by redoubts and palisades raised under the direction of a French deserter, who led a company. From this place Bustos constantly caused alarm to the British troops, who once had to retreat before a picket guard sent to get the church bells of Quiapo. The British, in fact, were much molested by Bustos’ Malinta troops, who forced the invaders to withdraw to Manila and reduce the extension of their outposts. This measure was followed up by a proclamation, in which the British commander alluded to Bustos’ troops as “canaille and robbers,” and offered a reward of five thousand dollars for Anda’s head; declaring him and his party rebels and traitors to their majesties the kings of Spain and England. Anda, chafing at his impotence to combat the invading party by force of arms, gave vent to his feelings of rage and disappointment by issuing a decree, dated from Bacolor the 19th of May, 1763, of which the translated text reads as follows:

“Royal Government Tribunal of these Islands for His Catholic Majesty: Whereas the Royal Government Tribunal, Supreme Government and Captain-Generalship of His Catholic Majesty in these Islands are gravely offended at the audacity and blindness of those men, who, forgetting all humanity, have condemned as rebellious and disobedient to both their Majesties, him, who as a faithful vassal of His Catholic Majesty, and in conformity with the law, holds the Royal Tribunal, Government and Captain-Generalship; and having suffered by a reward being offered by order of the British Governor in council to whomsoever shall deliver me alive or dead; and by their having placed the arms captured in Bulacan at the foot of the gallows--seeing that instead of their punishing and reproaching such execrable proceedings, the spirit of haughtiness and pride is increasing, as shown in the Proclamation published in Manila on the 17th instant, in which the troops of His Majesty are infamously calumniated--treating them as blackguards and disaffected to their service--charging them with plotting to assassinate the English officers and soldiers, and with having fled when attacked--the whole of these accusations being false: Now therefore by these presents, be it known to all Spaniards and true Englishmen that Messrs. Drake, Smith and Brock, who signed the Proclamation referred to, must not be considered as vassals of His Britannic Majesty, but as tyrants and common enemies unworthy of human society, and therefore, I order that they be apprehended as such, and I offer ten thousand dollars for each one of them alive or dead. At the same time, I withdraw the order to treat the vassals of his Britannic Majesty with all the humanity which the rights of war will permit, as has been practiced hitherto with respect to the prisoners and deserters.”

Anda had by this time received the consent of his king to occupy the position which he had usurped, and the British commander was thus enabled to communicate officially with, him, if occasion required it; and Drake replied to this proclamation, recommending Anda to carry on the war with greater moderation and humanity.

On the 27th of June, 1763, the British made a sortie from the city to dislodge Bustos, who still occupied Malinta. The attacking party consisted of three hundred and fifty fusileers, fifty horsemen, a mob of Chinese, and a number of guns and ammunition. The British took up quarters on one side of the river, while Bustos remained on the other. The opposing parties exchanged fire, but neither cared nor dared to cross the waterway. The British forces retired in good order to Masilo, and remained there until they heard that Bustos had burned Malinta House and removed his camp to Meycauayan. Then the British withdrew to Manila in the evening. On the Spanish side there were two killed, five mortally wounded and two slightly wounded. The British losses were six mortally wounded and seven disabled. This was the last encounter in open warfare. Chinamen occasionally lost their lives through their love of plunder in the vicinity occupied by the British.

During these operations, the priesthood taught the ignorant natives to believe that the invading troops were infidels--and a holy war was preached.

The friars, especially those of the Augustine order,[14] abandoned their mission of peace for that of the sword, and the British met with a slight reverse at Masilo, where a religious fanatic of the Austin friars had put himself at the head of a small hand lying in ambush.

On the 23d of July, 1763, a British frigate brought news from Europe of an armistice--and the preliminaries of peace, by virtue of which Manila was to be evacuated (Peace of Paris, 10th of February, 1763), were received by the British commander on the 27th of August following, and communicated by him to the archbishop-governor for the “commander-in-chief” of the Spanish arms. Anda stood on his dignity and protested that he should be addressed directly, and be styled captain-general. On this plea he declined to receive the communication. Drake replied by a manifesto, dated 19th of September, to the effect that the responsibility of the blood which might be spilled, in consequence of Anda’s refusal to accept his notification, would rest with him. Anda published a counter manifesto, dated 28th of September, in Bacolor (Pampanga), protesting that he had not been treated with proper courtesy.

Greater latitude was allowed to the prisoners, and Villa Corta effected his escape dressed as a woman. He fled to Anda--the co-conspirator who had refused to save his life--and their superficial friendship was renewed. Villa Corta was left in charge of business in Bacolor during Anda’s temporary absence. Meanwhile the archbishop fell ill; and it was discussed who should be his successor in the government in the event of his death. Villa Corta argued that it fell to him as senior magistrate. The discussion came to the knowledge of Anda, and seriously aroused his jealousy. Fearing conspiracy against his ambitious projects, he left his camp at Polo, and hastened to interrogate Villa Corta, who explained that he had only made casual remarks in the course of conversation. Anda, however, was restless on the subject of the succession, and sought the opinion of all the chief priests and bishops. Various opinions existed. Some urged that the decision be left to the supreme court--others were in favor of Anda--while many abstained from expressing their views. Anda was so nervously anxious about the matter, that he even begged the opinion of the British commander, and wrote him on the subject from Bacolor on the 2d of November, 1763.

Major Fell seriously quarreled with Drake about the Frenchman Faller, whom Admiral Cornish had left under sentence of death for having written a letter to Java accusing him of being a pirate and a robber. Drake protected Faller, while Fell demanded the execution of the prisoner; and the dispute became so heated that Fell was about to slay Drake with a bayonet, but was prevented by some soldiers. Fell then went to London to complain of Drake, hence Anda’s letter was addressed to Backhouse, who took Fell’s place. Anda, who months since had refused to negotiate or treat with Drake, still insisted upon being styled captain-general. Backhouse replied that he was ignorant of the Spaniards’ statutes or laws, but that he knew the governor was the archbishop. Anda thereupon spread the report that the British commander had forged the preliminaries of peace because he could no longer hold out in warfare. The British necessarily had to send to the provinces to purchase provisions, and Anda caused their forage parties to be attacked, so that the war really continued, in spite of the news of peace, until the 30th of January, 1764. On this day the archbishop died, sorely grieved at the situation, and weighed down with cares. He had engaged to pay four millions of dollars and surrender the islands, but could he indeed have refused any terms? The British were in possession; and these conditions were dictated at the point of the bayonet.

Immediately after the funeral of the archbishop, Anda received dispatches from the King of Spain, by way of China, confirming the news of peace to his governor at Manila. Then the British acknowledged Anda as governor, and proceeded to evacuate the city; but rival factions were not so easily set aside, and fierce quarrels ensued between the respective parties of Anda, Villa Corta and Ustariz, as to who should be governor and receive the city officially from the British. Anda, being actually in command of the troops, had the game in his hands. The conflict was happily terminated by the arrival at Marinduque of the newly appointed governor-general from Spain--Don Francisco de la Torre. A galley was sent there by Anda to bring his excellency to Luzon, and he arrived at Bacolor, where Anda resigned the government to him on the 17th of March, 1764.

La Torre sent a message to Backhouse and Brereton--the commanding officers at Manila and Cavite--stating that he was ready to take over the city in due form. La Torre thereupon took up his residence in Santa Cruz, placed a Spanish guard with sentinels from that ward as far as the Great Bridge (Puente de Barcas, now called Puente de España), where the British advance guard was, and friendly communication took place. Governor Drake was indignant at being ignored in all these proceedings, and ordered the Spanish governor to withdraw his guards, under threat of appealing to force. Backhouse and Brereton resented this rudeness, and ordered the troops under arms to arrest Drake, whose hostile action, due to jealousy, they declared unwarrantable. Drake, being apprised of their intentions, escaped from the city with his suite, embarked on board a frigate, and sailed off.

La Torre was said to be indisposed on the day appointed for receiving the city. Some assert that he feigned his indisposition, as he did not wish to arouse Anda’s animosity, and desired to afford him an opportunity of displaying himself as a delegate at least of the highest local authority by receiving the city from the British, while he pampered his pride by allowing him to enter triumphantly into it. As the city exchanged masters, the Spanish flag was hoisted once more on the fort of Santiago amid the hurrahs of the populace and artillery salutes.

Before embarking, Brereton offered to do justice to any claims which might be legitimately established against the British authorities. Hence a sloop loaned to Drake, valued at four thousand dollars, was paid for to the Jesuits, and the three thousand dollars paid to ransom Villa Corta’s life was returned; Brereton remarking that, if the sentence against him were valid, it should have been executed at the time, but it could not be commuted by money payment. At the instance of the British authorities, a free pardon was granted and published to the Chinese, few of whom, however, confided in it, and many left with the retiring army. Brereton, with his forces, embarked for India, after dispatching a packet-boat to restore the Sultan of Sulu to his throne.

During this convulsed period, great atrocities were committed. Unfortunately the common felons were released by the English from their prisons, and used their liberty to perpetrate murders and robbery in alliance with those always naturally bent that way. So great did this evil become, so bold were the marauders, that in time they formed large parties, infested highways, attacked plantations, and the poor peasantry had to flee, leaving their cattle and all their belongings in their power. Several avenged themselves of the friars for old scores, others settled accounts with those Europeans who had tyrannized them of old. The Chinese, whether so-called Christians or pagans, declared for and aided the British.

The proceedings of the choleric Simon de Anda y Salazar were approved by his sovereign, but his impetuous disposition drove from him his best counselors, while those who were bold enough to uphold their opinions against his were accused of connivance with the British. Communications with Europe were scant indeed in those days, but Anda could not have been altogether ignorant of the causes of the war, which terminated with the Treaty of Paris.

On his return to Spain, after the appointment of La Torre as governor-general, he succeeded in retaining the favor of the king, who conferred several honors on him, making him Councilor of Castile, etc. In the meantime Jose Raon, who replaced La Torre, had fallen into disgrace, and Anda was appointed to the governor-generalship of the islands.

There is perhaps no imperiousness so intolerant as that of an official who vaunts his authority by the reflected light of his powerful patron. Anda on his arrival avenged himself of his opposers in all directions. He imprisoned his predecessor, several judges, military officials and others; some he sent back to Spain, others he banished from the capital. Thus he brought trouble upon himself. From all sides hostile resistance increased. He quarreled with the clergy; but when his irascible temper had exhausted itself in the course of six years, he retired to a convent of the Austin friars, where he expired in 1776, much to the relief of his numerous adversaries.

Consequent on the troubled state of the colony, a serious rebellion arose in Ylogan (Cagayan Province), among the Timava natives, who flogged the commandant, and declared they would no longer pay tribute to the Spaniards. The revolt spread to Ilocos and Pangasinan, but the ringleaders were caught, and tranquillity was restored by the gallows.