Chapter III: Part 3

In other letters I have reported to your Majesty the great importance, for the security and defense of this country, of maintaining a supply of galleys, and I have also reported the number which I have supplied with arms. Since they cannot be kept up without an allowance of money sufficient for them, I beg your Majesty to be pleased to command that there shall be set aside twenty thousand ducados from the treasury of Mexico, or else from the ten per cent duty levied at Acapulco upon the merchandise exported hence. The purpose of this fund shall be to maintain four or five galleys, which are necessary here. This is the same amount that is spent in Cartagena for a single galley, and your Majesty may trust me, as one who has looked carefully into the matter, that this is necessary; and that expenditures without this only waste funds and consume lives in gaining nothing. [_Marginal note_: "Referred to the Council of War."]

I shall examine some despatches which have been received here this year, which as yet I have not been able to do because of the necessity of concluding this despatch, and I shall answer them at the first opportunity. May God keep the Catholic person of your Majesty, as Christendom has need.

From the port of Cavite, July 8, 1605.

_Don Pedro de Acuna_

[_Endorsed_: "August 2, 1606. Examination and decree within"]

Sire:

Many are the labors of this charge, both bodily and spiritual, and almost without surcease must be the cares of him who holds, on his own account and for your Majesty, the protection, defense, and preservation of a kingdom and provinces so far from your royal person, and amid so many nations, so great in numbers and so powerful, who have so extraordinary tendencies, laws, and customs. From these we promise ourselves, in time, with the help of God, excellent results for His greater glory and the increase of His church. No one of these things has given me so much anxiety as the conduct of the licentiate Don Antonio de Rivera Maldonado, auditor of this royal Audiencia. This man, with his temper, his haughtiness, and lack of understanding, has given and is giving so many occasions for annoyance to the people, to me, and to his companions--and particularly to the soldiers, and the military and royal officials--that I have had more ado to moderate, adjust, and set right his affairs than all others in my charge. His arrogance is terrible. The citizens, even the most powerful of them, fear him, for they realize that in his position as senior auditor he has the boldness to attempt any design to their harm that comes into his mind, or suits his desires, and that he carries out his plans. Consequently, all cry out to God for redress for his unjust acts. For there is no redress here, and it comes but tardily from your Majesty, owing to the time necessary for it to reach this country. I do all that I can, but he gives me so many provocations that it is a wonder some great quarrel has not occurred. To obviate the difficulty in regard to the troops, I have ordered that the companies of the guard shall not enter in angular order, but in troops, as has been done now for more than five months; for it appears that he was carefully awaiting an opportunity to rout them, horse and foot, with all his blacks. I refer to the two informations, sent herewith, which concern this, and the rest. Although I did not choose to make investigations, for the sake of greater secrecy, and to avoid the annoyances that the witnesses of lower rank might suffer if the said Don Antonio knew that they swore against him therein, measures will be taken to find out what there is in the affair.

The said Don Antonio has persistently striven to bring about his marriage with Dona Margarita de Figueroa, daughter of Captain Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, and has employed many instruments to accomplish this. Several suits have been brought before the royal Audiencia on the part of the said Dona Margarita and her sister, both of whom were minors, against the royal treasury, some of these involving large sums of money, as did that which concerned the conquest of Mindanao. These girls had many suitors, and there were differences of opinion as to where they could reside with the most security and privacy, so that there should be no negotiations concerning their marriages; for they were very rich, and had near relatives to claim guardianship over them--as their grandmother, the wife of the accountant of the royal exchequer; and Captain Francisco de Mercado, whom the father of the minors left as their guardian, and in whose hands was the said property. The said Don Antonio, with this object, began to favor the causes of the above-named persons, and communicated his intention to Andres Duarte de Figueroa, their uncle, the brother of their father--whom he considered a safe person, as he was his intimate friend, and a claimant for the guardianship of the girls. He proceeded so artfully that the guardianship of the minors was denied to all the others by the Audiencia, who commanded that they be given over to the said Andres Duarte, who was an unmarried man. Owing to the pretensions which the said Don Antonio entertained in regard to this marriage, he decided the said cases in favor of the said minors, which greatly pleased their uncle, and caused much complaint on the part of those who were present. He used to go at night to visit the said minors, causing a great deal of talk by his intentions. Although his purpose was well understood by the public, it became more apparent when Don Juan de Tello was negotiating a marriage with the said Dona Margarita, who is now his wife. On this account the said Don Juan, fearing that Don Antonio will be as much opposed to him in the said suits now, as he was formerly favorable to the said minors, has accused him, and is furnishing information against him. My proceedings in this case, and in one of those which I mention in a paragraph before this, are sent by this mail, by which your Majesty will see the results of the investigation. It is held as certain that the said Don Antonio has brought great pressure to bear on the said Andres Duarte that he may not betray him in the matter of the said marriage, but shall say that he was asking it for his brother, and not for himself; and that the said Andres, on account of his friendship, and, knowing Don Antonio's temper, fearing that the latter will do him some harm, would not declare against him. I believe that he is going to Espana, where perhaps he will make this matter known, as he will be free from the jurisdiction of the auditor; but here what he swears under oath only hinders the matter. The troubles arising from the pretensions of the said Don Antonio are not confined to this matter; for, furthermore, when the uprising of the Sangleys occurred, and the auditors were obliged to lay aside their robes and put on short cloaks, as they did, the said Don Antonio went about with a gilded sword. Then, when occasion for this was past, the other auditors put on their robes; but the said Don Antonio seemed to think that he represented a different person from an auditor, and was not obliged to do as the other auditors did. He kept on his short cloak and sword, and appeared thus in the halls of justice, possibly because he thought it suited his affair of the marriage, as it was at this time that he pressed it most. And as I thought that it was not right that he should try to distinguish himself in so unfitting a manner, and that it ought not to be permitted, and as remarks about it had been made in public, I told him of it, and asked him to put on the robe. The answer he gave was what your Majesty may learn in the document which accompanies this, to which I refer you--adding only that your Majesty may judge by this matter how other things must go, and his manner of behavior, in which he goes so far as to say, and let it be understood, that he alone can do these things, and must command everything. Your Majesty will decree the remedy which is expedient and so necessary. May our Lord protect the Catholic person of your Majesty with the happiness needful for Christendom. Manila, July 15, 1605.

_Don Pedro de Acuna_

DOCUMENTS OF 1606

The Dominican mission of 1606. Diego Aduarte, O.P., and others;
1604-06.
The Dutch factory at Tidore. Joan ----; March 16.
The Sangley insurrection of 1603. Miguel Rodriguez de Maldonado.
Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe III. Telles de Almacan,
and others; July 6.
Letter from the fiscal to Felipe III. Rodrigo Diaz Guiral; July.
The Terrenate expedition. Council of the Indias; August 5 and 15.
Decree establishing a way-station for Philippine vessels on the
California coast. Felipe III; August 19.
Chinese immigration in the Philippines. Pedro Munoz de Herrera,
and others; July-November.
Letter to Acuna. Felipe III; November 4.

_Sources_: All these documents are obtained from foreign archives: the third (a printed pamphlet) from the Real Academia de Historia, Madrid; the sixth, from the Archivo general at Simancas; the seventh, from the British Museum; the last, from the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid; all the rest, from the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla.

_Translations_. The first, second, fourth, fifth, and eighth of these documents are translated by Henry B. Lathrop, of the University of Wisconsin; the third and seventh, by James A. Robertson; the sixth and ninth, by Norman F. Hall, of Harvard University.

The Dominican Mission of 1606

I, Fray Diego Duarte, [8] of the Order of St. Dominic, affirm that his Majesty by his royal decree, which I present herewith, commanded that in addition to the thirty religious and four servants whom in accordance with his said royal decree I received permission to convey to the Feliphinas Islands, I should conduct ten other religious, making forty in all; and that for the despatch of all of them your Lordship should give me what was necessary at the expense of his royal treasury. This allowance is to be in conformity with the report mentioned in the said decree (which your Lordship has sent to the royal Council of the Yndias), which states the cost of the passage to the Yndias of each religious. Since the time is now far advanced, it is necessary for me to receive the payment for the said religious in order that they may make their voyage in the fleet which is about to be despatched to the province of Nueva Spana, and that his Majesty's commands may be fulfilled. This cannot take effect unless your Lordship provide me with the money necessary to buy clothing and ship supplies, and what else is needed.

Therefore I beg and pray your Lordship to give commands that, in addition to the seven hundred and seventy thousand seven hundred and fifty-two maravedis which the treasurer Don Melchor Maldonado has been commanded to deliver to me, in conformity with the said royal decree issued from the royal council of the treasury, for the despatch of the said religious, there may be delivered and paid to me the amount which, in conformity with the said report sent by your Lordship to the said royal council, shall be necessary and sufficient for the despatch and maintenance of the said ten religious whom, as I have said, his Majesty by his said royal decree commands me to conduct to the said islands in addition to the said thirty religious--for whom only your Lordship has given commands that allowance shall be made to me. Thus your Lordship will do service to our Lord, and will fulfil his Majesty's directions. For this, etc.

_Fray Diego Duarte_

The aforesaid members of the Council, having considered this petition, give as their decision that a warrant has been delivered for the amount for which he possesses the necessary papers; and that as for the rest for which the said Fray Diego Duarte offers his prayer, he shall receive the papers needed; and they, accordingly direct that a warrant shall issue in conformity with the ordinance of the treasury.

Before me. _Adriano de Siguenca_, notary.

Your Lordship: Fray Diego Duarte of the Order of St. Dominic declares that in accordance with the commands received from your Highness directing him to seek religious of his order in order to conduct them to his province in the Philippinas Islands, he has exerted himself to do so, and will take the number of forty. He offers his petition to your Highness that you will be pleased to command that he shall accordingly be given what is necessary in order that they may go aboard and also what they need to convey them to Sevilla, since [his Majesty] by Don Francisco de Tejada, of his council, gave his royal word to provide him with it. [Without date or signature.]

[_Endorsed_: "Let him receive the two hundred ducados which were decreed to be given. January 11, 1605." "Let father Fray Diego Duarte receive what is needed for himself and thirty religious; and, if he conducts more, for as many as forty, in accordance with the new estimate and report; and let him receive in addition two hundred ducados beside the two hundred which were given him for the living and conveyance of the said religious on their way to Sevilla. Decreed in full council; Valladolid, January 19, 1605."]

_List of the Religious who go to the Province of the Holy Rosary in the Philippinas with father Fray Diego Aduarte during the present year, 1605_

_From San Esteban at Salamanca_

Father Fray Diego del Aguila, son of the same convent and at the present time preacher in it, a native of Escalona; aged forty-eight years, thirty-two years in the order.

Father Fray Marcos de los Huertos, son of the same convent, a native of Astudillo; aged twenty-six years, eight years in the order; his studies completed.

Father Fray Pedro de Armeiun, son of the same convent, a native of Calahorra; aged twenty-eight years, nine years in the order; his studies completed.

Father Joan de Vera, a son of the same convent, a native of Berlanga; aged twenty-six years, seven years in the order; his studies completed.

Father Fray Martin de la Anunciacion, a son of the same convent, a native of Aldea Nueva de la Vera; aged twenty-nine years, seven years in the order; in the third year of theology.

Father Fray Francisco de Santa Maria, a son of the same convent, a native of Fuente de Cantos; aged twenty-eight years, seven years in the order; in the third year of theology.

Father Fray Matheo de la Villa, a son of the same convent, a native of Asturias; aged twenty-five years, six years in the order; his studies completed.

Father Fray Diego Gomez, a son of the same convent, a native of the district of Avila; aged twenty-five years, six years in the order; in the second year of theology.

Father Fray Lorenzo de Ponis, a son of the same convent, a native of the district of Burgos; aged twenty-seven years, three years in the order; his studies completed, since before he assumed the habit he was far advanced in them.

Brother Fray Gaspar de Casa-Blanca, deacon, a son of the convent of Nuestra Senora at Pena de Francia, a native of the town of Fresneda; aged twenty-three years, six years in the order; in the first year of theology.

Brother Fray Antonio de Salazar, sub-deacon, a native of Salamanca and a son of the convent there; aged twenty-two years, six years in the order; in the first year of theology.

Brother Fray Roque Benito, a son of the convent of San Pedro Martir at Calataiud; aged twenty-one years, seven years in the order; in the second year of theology; a native of Ateca in Aragon.

Brother Fray Antonio Vazquez, lay brother of the same convent, a native of Vittoria; aged twenty-seven years, three years in the order.

Brother Fray Joan Zilarte, lay brother of the same convent, a native of Aldea Nueva de la Vera; aged thirty-two years, eight years in the order.

_From San Yldefonso at Toro_

Father Fray Lorenzo Campo, a son of the convent of Santo Domingo at Ocana, a native of Corral de Almaguer; aged twenty-six years, seven in the order; in the second year of theology.

Brother Fray Diego Lopez, deacon, native and son of Plasencia; aged twenty-two years, six years in the order; in the second year of theology.

_From Santo Thomas el Real at Avila_

Father Fray Francisco del Barrio, native and son of Victoria; aged twenty-six years, eight years in the order; in the third year of theology.

Father Fray Gabriel Perez, native and son of Ocana; aged twenty-six years, seven years in the order; in the first year of theology.

_From Sancta Cruz at Segovia_

Father Fray Ambrosio de Huerta, a son of the convent of Santo Domingo at Ocana; aged twenty years, three years in the order; his studies completed.

Brother Fray Manuel de Ledesma, a son of the same convent, a native of Segobia; aged twenty-two years, seven years in the order; in the second year of theology.

Brother Fray Gabriel de Zuniga, sub-deacon, a son of the convent of Yepes, a native of Ocana; aged twenty-two years, seven years in the order; in the first year of theology.

Brother Fray Francisco Rodriguez, a son of the same convent, a native of Guadalaxara; aged thirty years, ten years in the order. He is a lay brother.

_From Sancta Cruz at Carboneras_

Father Fray Jacinto Lopez de San Geronimo, a son of the same convent, a native of Torrejoncillo de Huete; aged twenty-eight years, eleven years in the order; his studies completed.

Father Fray Joan de Cuebas, a son of the same convent and lecturer on the arts therein, a native of Cardenete; aged twenty-five years, nine years in the order.

_From San Pedro Martyr at Toledo_

Father Fray Joseph de San Jacinto, a son of the convent of Ocana, a native of Salvanes; aged twenty-five years, eight years in the order; in the second year of theology.

Brother Fray Pedro Gomez, deacon, a son of the convent San Gines at Talavera, a native of the same place; aged twenty-three years, seven years in the order; in the first year of theology.

_From San Pablo at Valladolid_

Father Fray Jacinto Orfanel, a son of the convent of Santa Catalina at Barcelona, a native of the district of Valencia; aged twenty-eight years, eight years in the order; his studies completed.

_From the college of San Gregorio at Valladolid_

Father Fray Pedro Balberde, a native of the district of Cordova, a son of the convent of San Pablo at Cordoba; aged twenty-five years, seven years in the order; his studies completed.

_From the college of Santo Thomas at Alcala_

Father Fray Melchor Mancano, a native of Villaseusa de Aro, a son of the convent of Santo Domingo at Ocana; aged twenty-six years, nine years in the order; his studies completed.

Father Fray Joan de Leiba, a native of La Rioja, a son of the convent of Nuestra Senora at Atocha; aged thirty years, ten years in the order; his studies completed.

Father Fray Andres de Velasco, a native of La Rioja, a son of the convent of San Pablo at Burgos; aged twenty-eight years, ten years in the order, his studies completed.

Brother Fray Joan Ordima, deacon, son of the convent of San Pedro Martyr at Toledo, a native of the same place; aged twenty-four years, eight years in the order; his studies completed.

Brother Fray Juan Rodriguez Morcillo, deacon, son of the convent of La Madre de Dios at Alcala, a native of Madridejos; aged twenty-three years, seven years in the order; in the second year of theology.

_From Santa Maria at Nieva_

Father Fray Domingo del Arco, a native of the district of Guadalaxara, a son of the convent of La Madre de Dios at Alcala; aged twenty-six years, six years in the order. He is not far advanced in his studies, but is very well fitted for this expedition.

_From Santiago in Galicia_

Father Fray Garcia Oroz, a native of the district of Pamplona, a son of the convent of Nuestra Senora at Atocha; aged fifty years, thirty years in the order. This father has been in Nueva Espana. I ask for a dispensation that he may have permission to accompany me, for he will be of great use in this expedition and to that province.

_From the convent of La Magdalenaat Alfararin, in the kingdom of Aragon_

Father Fray Domingo Vicente, a son of the convent of Preachers in Zaragoza; aged twenty-six years, eight years in the order; a native of the district of Calatayud; his studies completed.

_From the convent of San Pedro Martyr at Calatayud_

Brother Fray Jacinto Francin, deacon, a native of Caspe and a son of the convent there; aged twenty-three years, five years in the order: in the first year of theology.

_From the convent of Corpus Christi at Luchente_

Father Fray Dionisio de Rueda, a son of the same convent; aged thirty-two years, sixteen years in the order; his studies completed. He is a native of Valencia.

In addition, I expect from the kingdoms of Cataluna and Valencia as many as twelve other religious who, as I certainly know, are very suitable persons for this mission, but I do not know their names. I shall not be able to learn these names until the religious reach here, which will be very late. I beg your Highness to be pleased to send me a license, so that I may have authority to take all of them; for, in the confidence that I should receive that permission, I have searched them out and disturbed them in their convents. I swear, on the faith of a religious and a priest, that those whom I have assigned so far are the aforesaid.

_Fray Diego Aduarte_

With regard to nearly all of those whose names appear in the list I am certain that they are religious of approved life and holy zeal, and that they will be able to do good service to our Lord in the conversion of the kingdoms and countries of the Indians. Many of them I saw on the road to Sebilla going on foot, to the edification of others, and in the order of sanctity. In the case of two or three I have found no one who knew them; but I trust in God and in the excellent zeal and choice of father Fray Diego Duarte that they will be like the rest. This is what I know; and in testimony of its truthfulness I have signed it with my name. In the convent of San Pablo at Valladolid June 4, 1605.

_Fray Garcia Guerra_, Master [9] and Procurator.

[_Endorsed_: "Let the documents necessary for the expenses of these religious be issued. Valladolid, on the sixth of June, one thousand six hundred and five.]"

To Diego de Vergara Gaviria, receiver of oaths in this Council: From the sums in your charge received for court fines give and pay to Fray Diego de Duarte of the Order of St. Dominic, two hundred ducados, amounting to seventy-five thousand maravedis, which it has been commanded to give him in addition to two hundred ducados which by warrant of this Council, dated August 31 last, in the year 604, we commanded you to pay him. This is on account of the expenses which he is obliged to incur in the conveyance and support of the religious. Take his receipt, with which and with this warrant the accountants of his Majesty who aid this Council shall receive and credit you on account the sum which you shall thus pay him. At Valladolid, on the thirty-first of August in the year one thousand six hundred and four. [10]

Signed by the Council.

_A true report of the difficulties of conducting religious to the Philipinas, because of the severe restrictions imposed by the decrees of his Majesty in regard to the matter_.

Although taking religious to any part of the Indias is a very arduous undertaking, it is incomparably more so to convey them to the Philippinas, since the journey is much longer, and there are more places on the way at which it is necessary to have dealings with royal officials. Accordingly, this voyage offers difficulties twice as great as the others. Not only is it necessary to cross two great seas--those of the North [Atlantic] and, of the South [Pacific]--besides the difficult journey across the country of Nueva Espana from one ocean to the other, but in addition his Majesty obliges us who make this journey to pass through so many hands and through so many registries as are certainly intolerable. If affairs be always conducted thus, it will be truly impossible to make the voyage according to the very severe regulations laid down by his Majesty, and with the very slight assistance given by his officials to the religious. I do not expatiate upon the great difficulties in obtaining religious, on their own side, as they are the sons of many mothers; and as soon as they begin the journey they hear a thousand things in regard to the evils of the country where they are going. Even if nothing more is said of it than that there is neither bread nor wine therein, that is enough to daunt a giant. Then those who by their strength of character overcome these difficulties at the edge of the water are frightened at the sea, and at the dismal prophecies that are usually current, that the fleet will be lost on account of sailing very late (as it almost always does) from Espana. Thus many of the religious have not courage to embark; while those who overcome this difficulty and do go aboard, being new to the sea and seeing themselves in so narrow a space as is that of one ship, and being very seasick--indeed, there are many who during the whole voyage cannot raise their heads--are delighted to find themselves on shore alive. Then having set foot on the land of Nueva Espana, from which they understand that they are obliged to pass anew through all that they have already suffered, and over a much larger ocean, they are put to the test by the climate; some die, and others find themselves attacked by a thousand sicknesses. They get there no better report about the country to which they are going than they had in Espana--indeed a much worse one, as it is received from eye-witnesses, both laymen and friars; and they dare not go on farther. All these difficulties have to be conquered by the commissary who conducts them, by means of his prudence, of which he needs a goodly supply. He is obliged to conduct them with love, for the religious are not of a character to be treated with rigor and violence, especially in a matter contrary to flesh and blood, when they exile themselves to those distant countries, so hot and so sterile, leaving their own land, which perhaps they can never forget. Hence, if they were to be treated with violence the result which your Majesty desires would not follow, that is, the service of God and of your Majesty's self in the conversion of souls. Not only would they, if thus treated, destroy more than they would build up, but they would serve only to disquiet those who were there occupied in the building up of that great church. These difficulties themselves are not so small; but it is reasonable to add the other and greater ones, such as are those of sending the religious away, and those which are stated in the following paragraphs.

_What occurs at Valladolid in despatching this business._ The first of the difficulties is in the first steps taken to bring the journey before the Council at the court. These steps are many; and anyone who goes thither without money--and those who come from the Philippinas to treat for this matter generally have no money--will find it necessary to take a great many more steps, since the officials regard that time as lost which they spend upon despatching the business of a man who offers them no advantages. Accordingly, it is not possible to obtain documents from them except by dint of importunate prayers, and these necessarily require much going about; this in the streets of Valladolid in winter is a very arduous task, especially for religious, who cannot leave their convent whenever they please. Still, to avoid this going from place to place is impossible if the business is to be carried on. After obtaining an order from the Council of the Indias, which one cannot generally get at the first request, it is necessary to obtain a second order from the Council of the Exchequer with regard to the allowance for the journey, and both of these must be recorded by the accountants of both councils. Although this may be necessary to give further security to the decrees of his Majesty and to relieve them from any suspicion of forgery, still, as those which are given to religious persons, and for so pious a purpose as this, are free from such suspicion, they may well be privileged in some respects and need not be obliged to pass through so many registries. On account of the great number of matters which are attended to in Valladolid, documents cannot pass through all the registries without taking much time. Accordingly, much trouble is necessarily caused in the hospices [_i.e._, guest-houses] of the convents where they lodge, and the commissioner who takes charge of this business is also obliged to suffer even more inconvenience--finding that for business so much to the advantage of our lord the king, and requiring so great labor and responsibility on his own part, and in which there is not a trace of profit to himself, it should be necessary to make such exertions at the very beginning. I confess, for my part, that I would have given up at this first station on the route if I had not supposed that all the hindrances to this voyage that I could encounter in the direction of his Majesty would have ended at this point; but later it will be seen how completely deceived I was in this notion. However, it is as well that all those who concern themselves with this business should be so deceived at the beginning, for if they were not they would give up this work, pious as it is.

_The smallness of the allowance for conducting the religious to Sevilla._ Further, the amount which your Majesty commands to be granted in Valladolid for conveying the religious from their convents to Sevilla, is insufficient by far for the expense thus incurred. I conducted the religious who accompanied me to Sevilla in the greatest poverty, for many of them went on foot, and he who was best equipped rode an ass. Yet I arrived in Sevilla burdened by a debt of more than two hundred ducados, merely from the expenditure which I was obliged to make on their account.

_In Sevilla._ In Sevilla, which is the second stopping-place, another troop of difficulties are encountered. In general, it is customary at the House of Trade to make some additions to the decrees of his Majesty; in order that these be accepted a great number of requirements must be fulfilled, the lack of any one of which is sufficient to invalidate the documents. Usually some one of these is lacking, from which it is easy to understand the embarrassment in which he must be who has charge of this matter, when he finds himself and his companions already in Sevilla without sufficient means for their support. This happened to me, and I am certain that I was not the first, and that he who follows me will not be the last, thus situated. I found myself in such embarrassment as the result of this that I was almost on the point of abandoning the enterprise at that time.

_The small allowance for provisions on the voyage._ Moreover, the amount granted in Sevilla for the entire support of the religious is far from sufficient for this purpose. If the amount commanded to be granted to them is divided into vestments, bedding, carriage of books, and freight-charges from Sevilla to Sanlucar, the amount allowed for the ship supplies for each person comes to only twenty-two ducados, which is all that they actually had. It is easy to see that it is impossible to obtain with this, or even approach, all that is necessary. It is certainly true that for bread and wine alone, I spent almost all of what the king granted me for supplies on the voyage; and that I had to encroach upon what was granted me for vestments and what clothes the friars themselves used for apparel. In addition, I was unable to pay all that we owed in Sevilla to the convent for the days during which we had remained there; accordingly, when I left it I was out of favor with the prior and the other brethren of the convent and yet I reduced to a very limited amount the supplies for the voyage. This is the statement of facts _in verbo sacerdotis_; for it may be evident in what straits we were, to anyone who has received as allowance for this purpose no more than that which the king gives, as ordinarily those who come from the Philippinas have only that amount.

_The requirement that the Council shall approve the religious who are to go is severe and useless._ After all this, the requirement of making the voyage under the very severe rule that the Council shall approve the friars who are to go to the Indias brings the whole undertaking within obvious risk of failure. If the list of names of the religious who are going must be certain and accurate, it cannot be sent to the Council before they are all assembled in Sevilla; for up to that point it is very uncertain who are to go. Even then it still remains uncertain, for many come back from Sevilla. The ordinary state of affairs is that all are gathered there a few days only before the departure of the fleet, for, if they go much sooner, there is no means for their support; for his Majesty gives commands to provide a real and a half daily for every religious, while the contribution demanded from the convent is three reals a day for each one. Now, if the list of names of the religious cannot be sent to Valladolid earlier, even if it should be approved there at the very moment--and usually business there is despatched quite otherwise--it is necessary that the approval shall come back from Valladolid immediately, or else the fleet will have departed, or be on the point of going. In the meantime the religious are in suspense, without knowing whether they are to make the voyage or no; for in the House of Trade at Sevilla they either refuse to give them the grant necessary for their support until the approval of the Council arrives, or, if they grant it in advance, they require a bond which the poor commissary does not know where to find--and which even if he could find it would be unwise for him to give, since he has no means by which to satisfy it in case the Council decree some other thing than what he expects. If, on the other hand, the House of Trade allows the grant after the appropriation arrives, the time is so short that it is impossible to provide the supplies for the voyage, except very poorly and in great haste, and at a very high price, since one must purchase without time for examination. Besides this, the religious are greatly hurt to find themselves subjected to an examination at the hands of the Council with regard to their life, their habits, and their family, just as if to permit them to go to the Indias were as much as to appoint them to bishoprics; this has greatly cooled their ardor. If the commissary who conducts them is not a man of great prudence, so that he can gild and smooth over this annoyance, it is certain that not one of them will go farther. Much more is it true that, if the rule should become known in the provinces of Castilla and Aragon, whence the religious for these missions usually go, no one would enter them; for if a man is required to leave his own country and his relatives and friends, and exile himself to the end of the world, at the risk of being excluded from the missions by the Council of the Indias, that would be the same as to put on him an eternal _sanbenito_ [11] in his order. Indeed, who would voluntarily subject himself to an interrogation of this sort? May it please God that, even if the bridge be made of silver, they shall be willing to go, all the more for so long and hard a voyage as that to the Philippinas, which in itself involves so many difficulties that only the arm of God can overcome them. It would be well to entrust to the commissary who conveys them this examination into their life and habits, for, if he is a conscientious man, he knows well that he lays a burden upon his conscience if he conducts ministers who will not unburden the conscience of the king; and, if he is not conscientious, these ordinances are ineffective, for, as they are so rigorous, he will evade them with very little trouble and at no expense to himself, for the whole matter must rest upon the honesty with which he is willing to act.

_Registry fees in Sanlucar._ In Sanlucar is the third stopping-place. Here, however well a man may have managed his business in getting out of Sevilla, there are never lacking hindrances; for whenever religious are registered there for passage they always meet with some obstacle, if it be nothing more than being asked for fees. These fees are demanded by the clerk of the registry and by the inspector of the ships, who is usually an official of the House of Trade at Sevilla. This demand for a fee for every religious who goes through is a very base thing. As for me, I was asked for three reals apiece by the clerk. As I thought that the act was an injustice, I went to the accountant and reported the case to him; it seemed even worse to him, and he told me that he would correct it. He did so by telling me on the following day that I should give the clerk what he asked for, and a real and a half more for every one; and that, if I did not do so he would not permit me to go aboard. This is the truth, _in verbo sacerdotis_. It seems to me that since the king does not require us to pay fees for our books and clothes, still less ought we to be asked to pay fees for our persons. I sent a complaint to the duke of Medina, who was greatly offended, and condemned the act, so finally they gave me my despatch for almost nothing.

_Fees on the Northern Sea._ At sea there is another registry at the time of the inspection of the ships, which generally takes place in mid-ocean at some time when the wind is fair, at the pleasure of the commander of the fleet. In truth, it seems as if it were invented solely for the gain which the officials obtain from it. They exact twelve reals from every passenger; and since the poor are usually by that time drained so dry that most of them go on board without a single real--having spent everything on expenses in port, the king's fees, and the ingenious exactions of the custom-house officers and excise-men--they suffer more from this than from everything else that they have previously spent. In my case they did me the honor to excuse me from the fees for the religious, but refused to do so for the servants whom we brought with us. Finally, however, we brought them to the point of agreeing to this because it was plain that we all had come by the order of his Majesty. This affair was the cause of no small embarrassment and resentment for all.

_From San Joan de Lua to Mexico._ In the port of San Joan de Lua [12] in Nueva Espana is the fourth station on the route. It is not the most comfortable one, although it ought to be so, since all arrive there much exhausted and worn out by the voyage. There one begins anew to deal with royal officials, to whom money must be given. Thus after we have passed the ocean the torments begin, which have no mercy upon those whom the ocean has many times spared. At that port it is very necessary to have something left over from one's sea-stores, for the expenses are very great in this country. The vicar must not be niggardly in distributing them, if he has to transact any business; or he must arm himself with patience, which is very necessary. His Majesty commands that the religious be provided there with what they need from his royal treasury for the journey which they must make to Mexico. They allow them only ten days for the journey, and provide food only for that period. The road is eighty leguas in length and is very rough, so that it takes a well-mounted horseman with a light load all of ten days to make it. How much more must it take for people going in company, and with a string of pack animals (as the religious ordinarily travel), who do not expect to go more than five or six leguas a day. Moreover, they are traveling in countries of varying climates; one of these being hot and the next cold, they often fall ill on the road, and some cannot travel farther. It is no small achievement for those in health to reach Mexico in twenty days. That which is allowed them for ten days' journey is not enough, as is very certain, in this country; how, then, will it suffice for twenty?

_In Mexico_. In the City of Mexico, which is the court of Nueva Espana, is the fifth stopping-place, where all of the difficulties which have been experienced at the court of our lord the king and in the city of Sevilla are renewed; because here one has to deal with royal officials in order to obtain money, and with the officials of his lordship the viceroy regarding the formalities necessary for the second embarcation. And both classes of officials make themselves so much the owners of the poor religious who has need of them that, when they again commence their demands here, he would, even if he had the patience of a Job, need all of it because of the many occasions which are here offered for his losing it. Although I arrived at Mexico burdened with the expenses of the journey, and had no food and no place from which to get it, the royal officials are not obliged to pay a single maravedi until all the party have passed through their registers. This will be done when they please. They inquire from the religious where their homes are, and who are their parents--a very unpleasant thing. One requires great assistance from Heaven in order not to resent it bitterly. They put so little confidence in his word and oath that what they do not see with their own eyes it is not worth while to swear to them. It happened, on the day when they registered me, that I did not have with me three religious, who were lying sick in the city of Los Angeles, which is on the route hither. Although I told the royal officials of this and swore it _in verbo sacerdotis_, that did not avail to make them give me the subsistence which I was obliged to send to those sick men. After this, since the stay in Mexico is long, lasting for almost a half a year, they asked money whenever they paid the tri-yearly allowance, and for every warrant they charged ten pesos, which comes to eighty [13] pesos. The payment is made in silver, to exchange which for current money causes a great deal of loss. Thus all of these pilferings consume the little which is given to the religious. I pass over the fact that it is impossible to collect money due without taking many steps and hearing many rude answers and sometimes insulting language. At one time when I was making such claims, one of the Mexican accountants uttered to me, before respectable witnesses, an insult which cut me to the heart, because I felt it as a man; and if he had uttered those words to one of his slaves, it might have wounded him.

_In Acapulco_. At the port of Acapulco is the last stopping-place. I do not even know what happens there, for at the time of writing this report we have not arrived there; but I have sufficient evidence that it must be the most burdensome of all. It is about three months since I have had three religious there, being obliged to send them in advance that they might prepare there what is needed for the voyage. One of them with my power of attorney requested the royal officials there to grant them a house, as is usual and customary, that they might collect there the ship-stores which are on the way from Mexico, and might lodge the friars there when about to make the journey. They presented for this purpose your Majesty's decree which I possess, and the officials replied that they would not grant them the house without a command from the viceroy. I sent this to them, and they made I know not what additions, and so have sent it back to me. During the two months and more that have been occupied with these demands and answers, the poor friars have slept on the ground, without having anyone to take them into his house--except that, being taken ill, they were received in the hospital. It is with all these hardships and difficulties that this voyage, so much to the service of God and of his Majesty, is taken, besides those experienced in the voyage itself, which are enough to make the beard of the bravest tremble. His Majesty requires, in spite of all this, that all of the religious who go from Espana to Philippinas must proceed thither, without permission being granted for any to remain in Nueva Spana; but there is no means less suitable to gain that end than obliging them to pass through so many difficulties. They come out of them so much grieved and humiliated that their courage and good will in serving his Majesty has come to an end. To transport them by force most certainly is no profit to his royal service, much less to the service of God. It does no good to the cause of religion, as I said in the beginning. Besides this, if your Majesty is pleased that we religious shall pass through so many registries without having our word or oath believed in them, because of the fraud that might exist in the amounts allowed to us from his royal treasury--if we are not to be trusted in this matter, much less shall be so in regard to the relief of his conscience, for which he sends us to those regions. Hence it seems that sending us might be dispensed with; the more since his Majesty entrusts this matter to his royal officials to whose direction and command he subjects us religious. They, perhaps supposing that by showing themselves rigorous in a matter of such piety they are likely to be regarded as zealous for the protection of the royal treasury in all other matters, draw the string until it breaks. But it is evident that there are royal officials in the Indias who maintain princely houses, perhaps without having inherited means for this from their parents. With regard to them it is plainly known that they serve the king solely for their own advantage; yet his Majesty trusts more to them than to disinterested religious who ask for nothing but their food and lodging on the road. If this costs much, it is because the journey is so tedious. Although at this point it might be said that the accounts of the royal officials have to be audited in due time, and that therefore they are more to be trusted, I, who have seen much of the world and know what happens in it, know also what is the fact in this matter. It is, that he who goes out of office richest at the time of the residencia goes out the best justified; hence, for fear of that, he never fails to make his profit. I do not mean to say that there should be no order or system in regard to the grant allowed by his Majesty to the religious for these missions; but I mean that his Majesty should command his officials to believe them at least on their oath, and that when they are obliged to give their oath they should not be annoyed as they have been hitherto.

The only objection to this is the irregularities of the fathers commissaries who have taken religious to the Indias. These, it is said, have obliged his Majesty to impose such restrictions in this matter, and as a safeguard against irregularities which may occur in future--because there have been commissaries who have taken fewer religious than the king provided for, thus defrauding his royal treasury by spending on a few that which was allowed for many. To this I reply, first, that there is no fraud upon the royal treasury, inasmuch as the allowance made by it for four is insufficient for the support of three, as appears from the previous statements of what happened to me in Sevilla. Hence there is not in this the evil design which seems to exist. The second point is that, as a result of these oppressive orders, the condition of things is sure to be much worse, since many mare friars are certain to remain in Sevilla and Nueva Spana, even after they have received money from the royal treasury for their ship-stores. After this has once been paid none of it can ever be restored to the treasury, even if a great excess were left; since whatever would be restored to the treasury, of all this which has been obtained from it with so many documents and precautions, would not go to it but to its officials. This would be the more true inasmuch as they, however justified they might be, would be unwilling to accept the things in kind, for fear of being obliged to give an account of them afterwards. This might subject them to great danger of loss. Above all, if the commissary were to reveal this matter to the officials, they would put an embargo on the whole affair, and he would undergo the risk of being unable to undertake the voyage. This happened to me once, for, being very fond of following truth and honesty, I told the royal officials of this City of Mexico that two religious of my company had received my permission to remain here, as that was expedient for the service of God and of his Majesty, and declared that I did not require living expenses and ship-stores for them. The officials, in place of trusting me at seeing that I proceeded without fraud or falsehood, cut off the provisions for all of my company, refusing for more than twenty days to give me what his Majesty commanded to be allowed for the support of the religious. Thus I was almost on the point of being unable to make the journey; for I used up on their living in Mexico all of the ship-stores which I had provided for the sea. Accordingly, in their desire to prevent two from remaining here, they incurred the risk that all of us might be compelled to remain. I stated this to the royal officials and the viceroy in a petition, and gained nothing by it. This is the kind of inconveniences which follow from practicing honesty with regard to the decrees of his Majesty.

As for the aforesaid, I, Fray Diego Aduarte, vicar of the religious of Saint Dominic who are going to the Philippinas, swear _in verbo sacerdotis_ that it is true, and I sign it with my name. At Mexico, January 20, 1605.

_Fray Diego Aduarte_

[_Endorsed_: "February 12, 1607, referred to Senor Don Francisco de Tejada to examine the papers and report thereon to the council."

"February 16, 1607, examined; the decrees, within."]