Chapter IV: Part 4

[Endorsed: "To the royal Audiencia of Manila, in regard to the order given by the president of the Audiencia to the mother rector of the seminary of Sancta Potenciana of that city, that she should not receive therein any woman sent by the archbishop or his provisor." "Ordering that the president take what measures appear most fitting, considering all ends."]

COMMERCE OF THE ISLANDS WITH MEXICO

The King. To my viceroy, president, and auditors of my royal Audiencia resident in the City of Mexico, of Nueva Espana: Don Juan Grau Monfalcon, procurator-general of the Filipinas Islands, has reported to me that the permission possessed by those islands of two hundred and fifty thousand pesos of merchandise, and five hundred thousand for the returns thereon, is very small, as that was conceded thirty-four years ago, when the citizens and inhabitants were fewer, the duties and expenses not so great, and the islands less infested by their foes. Because of this latter, their needs have increased so greatly that, if the said permission be not increased, it will be impossible to maintain them, or for their citizens to support themselves. He tells me that some illegal acts may have resulted from the present narrow limit of the permission, both in the lading of the merchandise, and in the returns of the silver. In order that those violations may be avoided, and those islands and their inhabitants maintained in a less straitened manner, he has petitioned me to have the goodness to concede an increase of the two hundred and fifty thousand pesos of the merchandise to four hundred thousand, and also of the five hundred thousand pesos of silver to eight hundred thousand. For, besides the above-mentioned advantages, my royal duties will thus increase, to supply the expenses of the said islands; illegalities and frauds will cease; and the inhabitants will increase in wealth. The matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, inasmuch as I wish to know what permission the said islands enjoy, and that of the count and duke of San Lucar, and whether it will be advisable to enlarge the permission of the said islands; and considering their needs and expenses, and other advantages: I order you to inform me very minutely in regard to it all, so that, after examination, the advisable measures may be taken. Given in Madrid, December eight, one thousand six hundred and thirty-eight.

I the King

Countersigned by Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon, and signed by the members of the Council.

[Endorsed: "Don Juan Grau Monfalcon. To the viceroy, president, and auditors of the Audiencia of Mexico, ordering information as to the permission [of trade] for the Filipinas Islands, and that conceded to the count and duke; and as to the advisability of increasing the amount permitted to the islands."]

JURISDICTION OVER SEAMEN

The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of Alcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, or to the person or persons in whose charge that government shall be: in a letter which I wrote to you on the second of last September, on various matters, there is a section of the following tenor: "I have considered the arguments that you bring forward for its being so expedient that the commander and the admiral of the ships shall have authority and jurisdiction in the port of Acapulco, when he is not on shore, to punish his sailors and soldiers; and that the warder of the fort there shall not interfere with them by undertaking to punish them on shore (regarding them as his subordinates, as hitherto they have been) as they are persons of ability and good qualifications--since from the time when the ships cast anchor, during all the time while they remain in port, the men do not respect or obey, as it is right they should, the said commander or admiral. Desiring to avoid this difficulty, so that those officers may punish the culprits in such cases, I have decided that what you propose may be done, with the conditions that you mention; and, by a decree of the same date as this letter, I am sending to the viceroy of Nueva Espana advices to that effect. [I have told him] that as this seems to be a general complaint, to judge from the instances [reported] here, he must give the necessary orders for the execution of this decree, unless some difficulty shall arise that may oblige him to defer it; for when those men commit any disorderly acts on shore complaint can be made against them, and the matter referred to the said commander and admiral." And now a report has been made to me, on the part of Don Juan Grao Monfalcon, procurator-general of that city of Manila, that it is very advisable that the said commander and admiral of the ships possess all necessary jurisdiction for punishing the men aboard them--as is done at Cartagena, Portovelo, and other places; and he entreats that I be pleased to command that this be accordingly done. The matter having been considered in my royal Council of the Indias, I have thought it best to issue the present, for such is my will, that the usage which I have mentioned be put in practice in the islands, as well as in Nueva Espana, since that is advisable for my service. [Madrid, December 8, 1638.]

I the King

By command of the king our sovereign:

Don Gabriel de Ocana y Alarcon

ON THE LADING OF THE GALLEONS

The King. Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the Philipinas Islands, has reported to me that certain citizens of those islands, to whom were allotted toneladas in the amount [of lading] permitted, have, for lack of means to ship the goods, sold that space--which has thus been secured by the merchants of Nueva Espana and Peru, who for that purpose have their agents in Manila. He states that this practice is overlooked [by the officials], although, after the first distribution of the permitted lading space has been made, and the toneladas allotted, the citizens who through poverty or other causes are unable or unwilling to lade the goods which belong and are allotted to them cannot give, sell, or transfer that space to any other person, unless they again declare the toneladas before the bureau of allotment. The bureau again shares the space which was thus declared among such citizens as ask for it, or who can occupy it to better advantage; and these must pay for it, giving for each tonelada the amount appraised, according to the season and the circumstances, by the bureau itself. The proceeds from the said toneladas shall be given and paid to the owners who had declared them. Thus poor persons will obtain relief, and the citizens [of the islands] will have the benefit of the entire amount of trade permitted to them, while those of Nueva Espana will be excluded from it. [The said procurator] entreats me to issue a decree in accordance with these facts, including therein adequate penalties to secure its execution. The matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, and the above statements carefully considered, I have approved [the said procurator's request]. I command my governor and captain-general of the said Philipinas Islands who now holds or shall in future hold that office, and the auditors of my royal Audiencia therein, and other persons who shall have in charge the allotment of the said toneladas, and the bureau for the said allotment, that they observe and fulfil, and cause to be observed and fulfilled, exactly and inviolably, what is ordained in this my decree, without in any way contravening or exceeding its tenor or form. And those who disobey this decree are warned that such act will be charged to them in the visitations and their residencias, and they will be punished according to law; for such is my will. [Madrid, December 8, 1638.]

FORTUNATE SUCCESSES IN FILIPINAS AND TERRENATE, 1636-37

Fortunate successes which our Lord has given by sea and land to the Spanish arms in the Filipinas Islands against the Mindanaos, and in the islands of Terrenate against the Dutch, in the latter part of the year 1636 and the beginning of 1637.

FILIPINAS

These Filipinas Islands, subject to the Catholic king our sovereign for the past thirty years, have been so harassed and terrorized by invasions, robberies, and fires caused by the Moros (Mindanaos, Joloans, Burneyans, and Camucones), that one could not sail outside the bay of Manila without manifest danger. Not a single village was now safe, nor could an evangelical or royal minister perform his duty undisturbed. These pirates--some at one time, others at another, and sometimes all together--set out every year from their own lands, and at first attacked the islands which are called the Pintados, for these were the nearest; and afterward, becoming more impudent, they came to coast along the island of Manila itself, and once they even came to the suburbs of this city (although without making their presence known). The Christians captured by them on these raids were numberless; some were Spanish but the majority were natives, who, sold afterward either among the enemies themselves, or among more distant unbelievers, either abandoned the faith, or suffered living death in a wretched slavery. The villages which they had ravaged were pitiful to see, being either burned to the ground or abandoned and deserted; for those inhabitants who were able to escape from the hands of the enemy hid themselves in the thickets of the mountains, among wild beasts and venomous serpents, without other food than a few roots and wild fruits. And what is impossible to relate without shedding tears, the gospel ministers were compelled to flee in this same way, to endure the same calamities, and suffer the inclemencies of sky and ground, in order not to fall into the hands of Mahometan cruelty. Even thus they were not always able to flee, for some, cut to pieces, fell into their hands; others were captured and ransomed at great cost, or died of ill-treatment in their captivity. Those barbarians did not spare the churches, but rather plundered them with an infernal fury; burned them, and trampled under foot the ornaments; broke the images and profaned the vessels; and impiously clothed themselves with the sacred vestments. The most unbearable thing of all was to see all those evils unchecked, our friends disheartened, the enemy unresisted, and the villages defenseless. For, although the governors sent fleets in pursuit of the enemy, nothing was effected--partly because the latter hid themselves from our men among the numerous islands, and partly because of the great speed of their boats, in which respect they had great advantage over us.

Finally, in the year 1633, the king of Mindanao, named Cachil Corralat, sent out a very large fleet which did signal damage in the islands. To put an end to this, Don Juan Cerezo de Salamanca, who was governor of the islands at that time, surmounting many difficulties, commanded a certain position to be taken and a fort to be begun in Samboangan, on the island of Mindanao, and occupied by a Spanish garrison; for that point was well suited to the purpose of restraining from there the Mindanaos and Joloans, as they were forced to sight it when they went forth to pillage. Soon the enemy Corralat felt the damage done him by the new post of the Spaniards, and since he could no longer sally forth at his safety, he called upon the Burneyans, Joloans, and Camucones to set out in various directions to pillage--which they did. He himself sent out after them, in the beginning of April, 1636, a large fleet in command of a Moro chief named Tagal. This fleet, as our garrison was but recently established, was able to proceed to our islands, and attacking many places, to make many captures--among them three Recollect religious of the Order of St. Augustine, and a Spanish corregidor of the island of Cuyo; to pillage much property, and to plunder the churches. They carried away the ornaments and vessels, and destroyed the images, and especially the cloth of a sacred crucifix, from which Corralat made himself a cape. Thereupon he became arrogant, and boasted that he was carrying away the God of the Christians a prisoner, because he had taken from among the sacred vessels a monstrance and a lunette with the most holy sacrament; and he returned to his own land, where they were already mourning him as lost, because he had been absent from it for eight months.

This last invasion, more than all the previous ones, afflicted Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who at that time had been proprietary governor of the islands for a year. Inflamed with a zeal for the honor of God and his king, he determined, after surmounting the numerous difficulties and oppositions, to avenge in person the insolent acts of those barbarians. But first of all he sent out, as governor of the presidio at Sanboangan, Sargento-mayor Bartolome Diaz Barrera, and, under his orders, Sargento-mayor Nicolas Goncalez, so that they might be making preparations and sweeping the seas of those corsairs--a very important matter, as will be seen subsequently. He then fitted out a good fleet of champans (sailing vessels of moderate size, which are used by the Chinese); and, embarking in one of them, made sail on the day of the Purification of our Lady, the second of February, of this year 1637. At Oton (which is about half-way) he received definite information that Tagal was returning to his own country with eight very well laden ships. The commander of the garrison at Sanboangan was informed of that; and, preparing in two hours a squadron of five caracoas (which are swift craft with oar and sail, which are used by these Indians) and placing in command thereof Nicolas Goncalez, the sargento-mayor of that presidio, he set out to round a very steep cliff, in which a small mountain terminated, projecting out into the sea, and distant about thirty leguas eastward from our fort. It was necessary for the enemy to stop there, in order to discharge numerous lances and arrows at the cliff (for it was their custom to sail by that point when either outward or homeward bound)--a superstitious custom of those barbarians. On account of this the place was known as "the point of arrows" [punta de flechas]. The result was that which our men desired for on the morning of the day of St. Thomas, the twenty-first of December (at the time when prayer was being offered up within the fort), the enemy was sighted; and both then and on the following night our men made such an attack upon the enemy that, in spite of a desperate defense, they surrendered. Of the eight ships only one worthy of mention escaped, and that one in such a condition that in order to escape, they cast overboard all its merchandise and slaves. The other ships, heavily laden with merchandise, fell into the hands of our soldiers and were plundered. There were not many firearms, but they contained the vases and sacred ornaments, which were declared, in order to be returned to their rightful owners. There died Tagal, the commander of the enemy, with more than three hundred other Moros--so obstinate and furious that they preferred death rather than surrender, although they were offered their lives. Better was the course of one of Tagal's brothers, who, when badly wounded, surrendered, protesting that he had always regarded the faith of the Christians as the true one, and begging for baptism, after receiving which he died. His example was followed by fourteen other Moros, who surrendered and besought baptism. Thus also there were recovered a hundred and twenty Christian captives and among them a Recollect father, one of those whom the Moros were taking away with them; but he was so badly wounded that he soon died, although greatly consoled to have seen with his own eyes the bravery with which our captains had punished the insolence of the barbarians, obtaining so signal a victory as that, to the honor of Jesus Christ and of the Spaniards, without its having cost even a single man to our side. In that we began to enjoy the benefits of the fort of Sanboangan; for if it had not been there, we could not have encountered the enemy--who were none the less frightened by a miracle which occurred on the very night on which the victory was won. For having commenced by a terrific trembling of the earth and sea, with a great noise of groans and screams, which were heard by some, and which terrified all, that cliff--which we have mentioned as an infamous place, both on account of the superstitious rite of shooting arrows at it and many other things, and because there was a tradition among the natives that the devil had been actually seen there--became loosened from the land and fell with a great crash into the sea, our Lord giving to understand thereby that the impiety so strongly intrenched in that island was to fall and give place to our holy religion, as events are constantly demonstrating. The shore has already been consecrated to God with the name of Point San Sebastian, so that the superstitions by which that place was contaminated may be transformed by His holy arrows.

The governor was highly elated with these tidings, and still more when he received the ornaments, sacred vessels, and images which had been recovered; and was moved to deep pity by the maltreated holy crucifix, which had been made into a cape. [25] He ordained the latter as thenceforth a standard for that expedition, as he did also with the miraculous painting of St. Francis Xavier which was carried by Father Marcelo Mastrillo, well known in the greater part of the world for the so great mark of favor shown him by the Lord through the agency of that great apostle of India. This father, while passing from Malaca to Macan, a port of China, in fulfilment of the vow which he made at Napoles, met with the Dutch corsairs, from whom the Lord delivered him by a sudden wind which, while it turned him from the course which he was pursuing, miraculously carried him, without a pilot who knew those regions, into the bay of Manila. They anchored at the port of Cavite, on the day of St. Ignatius of last year, for the signal consolation and edification of all these islands, and for the good success of this expedition (in which consisted the complete relief and remedy of all)--especially to the benefit of the sick, of whom he took charge during the entire course of the expedition. Our fleet reached the port of Sanboangan on February 22, of this year; and all the men in it having been confessed and having received communion, and having been so encouraged (as they made evident to the father) by seeing from the pulpit, the outraged image of the Crucified One, they cried out that they would attack the whole world; and that the mothers were fortunate who had employed their sons in so glorious an undertaking. Then the soldiers returned to their vessels; they were divided into three companies of Spaniards, and one of Panpango Indians. Without awaiting the Spaniards and the volunteer Bisayan Indians they began to lay their course toward Lamitan, on the fourth of March, in order not to allow the enemies time to prepare themselves. At that place Corralat had his principal village. The governor preceded the entire fleet, with only four boats--both because the weather was contrary, and because he had heard that there were some Moro merchantmen on the sea from Java Major, very full of Christian slaves. Without the loss of an instant's time, by sailing night and day, he came within sight of Lamitan, on March thirteen. There the same man, in company with only six musketeers as a guard, personally reconnoitered the coast and river, with great valor and risk. Having fully ascertained that the beach and the low grounds were safe, he disembarked with the men of his four boats, as well as those of two others, that had already come up at that time--in all, about seventy soldiers. He placed these in battle-array, and marched with them to attack the village, without knowing that it was so well fortified as was the case, as he understood that all their force was about one and one-half leguas inland on a high hill. It was an especial providence of our Lord, and a brilliant stratagem, to leave an open road along the beach (on which, as was afterward seen, the enemy had planted all their artillery), and to deceive the enemy by taking another road on the opposite side. This was very difficult and dangerous, both because of the ambuscades which the enemy had prepared in the thickets (which were quickly cleared by our men, by means of two field-pieces which were in the vanguard), and by the swamps and river--which the soldiers forded twice, with the water up to their breasts, with incredible valor. They were encouraged by the example of their captain-general, who was the first in all these hardships, as he was also later, when attacking two large stockades, one after the other. Those stockades, notwithstanding the fierce resistance made by the Moros in their defense, he entered with his men, ever proving himself not less prudent in commanding than spirited in attacking--personally encountering several Moros, who set upon him with extraordinary spirit. Thereupon, they caught sight of the fort with which Corralat had defended his village. It was exceedingly well fortified with a new ditch, with eight pieces of artillery, twenty-seven versos, many muskets with rests, and other lighter arms, and with more than two thousand warrior Moros. But that was of little use, for so gallant was the assault of the Spanish, notwithstanding their small number, that they instantly gained possession of the fort, killing a goodly number of Moros--among whom was their castellan, who obstinately fought to the death--while the others fled very badly wounded. From that place a portion of our men went on ahead to a stockade which, with one piece [of artillery], defended the house of Corralat, and it soon fell into our power; for after the commander who had charge of it (and who until then had kept them in good spirits by his vain and superstitious promises) had been killed, those who accompanied him lost heart and fled, while many of them were left there dead. The other body [of the Spaniards] attacked the river at the same time, and, putting the Moros to flight, captured more than three hundred craft, great and small. Of these they sacked some large Javanese merchantmen which were heavily laden with goods, and set free their Christian slaves. Some boats which were suitable for our men were kept, and the others were burned, without a single one being left. Had the fleet that left Sanboangan been all together on that day, they would have finished matters with the Moro king Corralat, who, with as many men as possible, withdrew to the hill which he had fortified, disguised and borne on the shoulders of slaves.

The governor after having given the village over to sack, having gathered all the arms of the enemy--which, as aforesaid, consisted of eight bronze pieces with ladles, one swivel-gun of cast iron, twenty-seven versos, and more than one hundred muskets and arquebuses; besides a very great number of cannon-chambers, and iron, balls, and powder; campilans (what the Indians call by this name resemble certain cutlasses), lances, javelins, and many other kinds of poisoned missile weapons; and also after having repaired the fort which the enemy had (now called San Francisco Xavier) with new and suitable fortifications, which he planned, and himself commenced with his own hands to execute; and having lodged his men without the loss of even one (for only two servants deserted): he retired to a large mosque, where he established a bodyguard. He first had the mosque blessed, and a chair and some Arabic books of the cursed Koran burned. Quite necessary was the garrison and watch set by the vigilant governor during the days of his stay there, while awaiting the rest of his fleet, in order to drive away some false and pernicious embassies, and to defend themselves from the continual surprises which the defeated Moros sprang upon them, especially at night. Our men did not receive much hurt from them; on the contrary, various bodies of troops, leaving their posts, overran the country, burning the villages, and committing other damage on the enemy. Many Christian captives fled from the enemy on this account, and were immediately sent to Sanboangan.

On the sixteenth of the same month, Sargento-mayor Nicolas Goncalez came to join the governor with the rest of the fleet, which sailed from Sanboangan. The governor immediately began to prepare his men with all temporal and spiritual equipment with which to invest the hill on the next day. There was well seen the military prudence and skill, and the zeal for the divine honor, of the captain-general, in the so well arranged and efficacious address which he made to his soldiers, and in the so definite orders that he issued. He divided his men; and, committing about one hundred and twenty Spaniards, thirty Pampango Indians, and some other Bisayans as carriers, to Sargento-mayor Nicolas Gonzalez, ordered him to surprise the enemy by the rear of the hill, first sounding his trumpets, so that he himself might attack the front at the same instant by this means dividing the enemy's forces, and weakening their defense. In accordance with these orders, the sargento-mayor began his march. The governor, with the rest of the army (after leaving a sufficient defense of soldiers in the fort and boats), marched toward the hill at six o'clock the following morning. At its brow was a very fine deserted village, where the governor fortified a good house, and had a piece of artillery planted and a garrison of Pampangos established, to be used as a place of refuge for his men. Commencing to ascend the hill by the road which the Moro who was guiding them showed him, he stopped near where there was another road; and, having asked the guide whether that road also led to the hill, and which of the two was the better, the Moro replied in the affirmative, and said that both were poor. "Then if both are poor," said the governor in reply, "let us go by the other, and not by the one along which the Moro is guiding us." That was the inspiration of Heaven, and very good military counsel, and so did the outcome declare it; for that first road was taking them point blank into a cavalier, garrisoned with three pieces, one of which was of bronze. It was found afterward that, besides a double charge of powder, the piece was loaded with two plain artillery balls, two crowbars, and more than three hundred musket balls--with which, no doubt, at least all the vanguard would have been swept away. Now freed from that danger, and marching with great difficulty up the hill, the governor sent some of the vanguard with orders to reconnoiter only the road, and to halt at some fitting place in order to await the signal of those who were to attack the enemy in the rear. In truth the road was so difficult that it could be ascended in some places only with great difficulty, by clambering up and laying hold of the shrubs with their hands. It was narrow and very steep, and had precipices in all parts, so that they could not mount upward except one at a time. And, above all, it was so well commanded at the top by three forts--which were inaccessible, both by the great height of their location, and by the defenses of ditches, very stout stockades, and a very large supply of weapons--that very few of the enemy, without receiving any hurt, could with the use of only stones kill a million men who might attack them in that part. Notwithstanding this, those who were sent to reconnoiter the road were so blinded by their overweening valor and spirit (truly Spanish) that, thinking that they could easily gain all, they went ahead to attack one of the three forts, without heeding the order that the general had given them; thereby they encountered, for themselves and the rest of the vanguard, great damage from the three forts, without doing anything to the enemy. More than twenty [of the Spaniards] were killed and more than eighty badly wounded. Much greater would have been the destruction of our men--for, not considering those who were falling, they continued to involve themselves and the others further, with false rumors of victory--had it not been that the governor, placing himself in the greatest danger, where the balls were raining down, and where they wounded his squire (and others who were very near him fell dead), and recognizing that victory was impossible in that part, and prudently hiding the disorder which had happened, in order not to discourage his soldiers, caused them all, both whole and wounded, to retire. This he did with so great ease and gallantry on one side, while on the other he confronted the enemy with so great valor, with sword in hand; had he not done that not a single man would have remained alive, since the enemy were numerous, the road full of precipices, and our men badly impeded with the wounded and more than two hours of fighting. That night the governor passed, with those who remained unhurt, in the retreat at the brow of the hill--at the greatest risk of perishing, if the enemy had made a sally, however vigilant our men had been. But God delivered them from that danger; for the enemy did not make a sally, because they made a great feast that night over the good result of having, as they imagined, killed the governor. Already by this time the sick were in the camp, in which miraculous cures of very deadly wounds occurred. One had been shot through the head from temple to temple; another was shot through the mouth by a ball that passed up through the stomach; another had several poisoned dart-points (here called sompites) left sticking in his throat; and both those and all the others, excepting two or three who did not allow themselves to be treated, are today alive and well. They, and all, attribute their miraculous health to the special favor with which God chose to repay the holy zeal with which all risked their lives for His Divine Majesty.

On the following day, the eighteenth of the same month, while the governor was hearing mass, the rattle and roar of artillery and musketry was heard on the hill, which increased his anxiety. Suspecting that Nicolas Gonzalez was fighting, he sent him, as a reenforcement, a company of soldiers under command of Captain Don Rodrigo de Guillestigui. And it was so that, the said sargento-mayor, Nicolas Gonzalez, not having been able to arrive the day before at the assigned place because of the great difficulty of the road, it was our Lord's pleasure that, after conquering many difficulties and great obstacles, he gained possession of an eminence which dominated the enemy's forts in the rear. Thence he started to invest them, with such intrepidity that, although the king, leading his men in person, began to resist him furiously, he could not however withstand our charges. Consequently, they were compelled to abandon their three forts, one after the other, leaving an infinite number of dead Moros, who perished partly by the balls, and partly through falling over precipices in escaping, as the way was narrow. Among those who escaped by flight was Corralat; he fled, badly wounded, to some small villages that he owned, which were four leguas distant from the hill. The queen his wife, and many others of his servants threw themselves over the precipices of their own accord, in order to avoid falling into our hands. Many of the enemy were captured and the Christian captives there freed. Among the latter was found alive one of the Recollect fathers, who, as he had been badly mangled, was judged to have lived as by a miracle until the day following, when he died as a saint in the camp, after receiving all the sacraments with great consolation. The third [Recollect religious] was killed through the fury of the Moros, and it is not known where they threw his body. The three forts, then, with all their arms (namely, four pieces of artillery, and other numberless weapons of other kinds), having fallen into our hands, as well as a great quantity of food, and a quantity of wealth, and a suitable guard having been placed, the governor was advised of everything. He was waiting anxiously in camp; rejoicing over the good news, and more that no one of our soldiers had been killed, he ascended the hill. In two days' time having taken down to the camp with very few men the pieces which it had taken the enemy six months to take up with more than two thousand Indians; collecting many sacred vases and ecclesiastical ornaments which were found; giving the house of the king over to sack, and others, very large and full of riches, by which many Spaniards were greatly advantaged; and having burned the buildings, and leveled the forts: as he was no longer able to endure the stench which arose from the [dead bodies of] the enemy who had been slain and those who had fallen over the precipices, the forces returned to camp--leaving the Moro king entirely ruined, as a chastisement for the many outrages which he had impiously committed on the true God, on His priests, and other Christians. From there, after having given thanks to our Lord with a mass, and a solemn procession with the most holy sacrament on the day of the Incarnation, they set sail for Sanboangan.

When they left, the governor sent Sargento-mayor Pedro Palomino with one hundred Spaniards to Cachil Moncay (the legitimate king, although he had been oppressed by the tyranny of his uncle Corralat), in order to tell him that, if he wished to be protected by the Spanish arms of his Majesty, he must render homage and pay tribute to the Catholic king our sovereign, wage war by fire and sword on Corralat and his allies, free the Christian captives, and admit gospel ministers. The king offered in person to do all that, and afterward through his ambassador and brother-in-law, at Samboangan, to the governor. The latter having issued the fitting orders in that presidio, and having received the homage offered to our sovereign by many--especially by the inhabitants of the island of Basilan, to whom he immediately assigned gospel ministers, as they asked for them--he entrusted one hundred Spaniards and more than one thousand volunteer Indians (who had now arrived, although after the battle), with orders to coast along the island, doing all the harm possible to the enemy, and helping the Spaniards' friends. The said captain performed all the aforesaid excellently, coasting along the island from Sanboangan to Caraga. And although the Moros had retreated inland, being terrified by the news of the victory, still the captain did them considerable damage. He burned as many as sixteen villages, and many other collections of houses, laid waste the fields and gardens, destroyed more than one hundred ships (counting large and small), and seized others for the use of the fleet, whose need he abundantly supplied with many provisions which he collected. He also beheaded seventy-two spirited Moros, who defended themselves against him, whose heads he placed on pikes, in various places along the beach, in order to terrorize the others. He made prisoners some others, whom he took alive, with which the whole land became fearful. While that was being done, as has been said, the governor set sail toward Manila. He entered that city in triumph on the twenty-fourth of May, with his four companies in battle-array, with the prisoners in their midst, and with fourteen wagons heavily laden with many important arms of the enemy, together with the banners which had been captured dragging in the dust. There was general applause and rejoicing by the Spaniards and natives. That was an affair well calculated to inspire fear in the numberless infidels by whom we are surrounded.

Finally, his Lordship, having shown certain very splendid honors to those who had so gloriously perished in the war, and having ordered a great number of masses to be said for their souls, ended the celebration most happily on the seventh of June (the Sunday of the Trinity), by a very solemn procession of the most holy sacrament as an expression of thanks. In front marched the ransomed Christians, very handsomely clad, carrying candles and rosaries. Four long paces behind them were many sacred vases and ecclesiastical ornaments, which were recovered from the possession of the barbarian. By that sight the hearts of Catholics were moved to great compassion; and the people gave many thanks to our Lord for the sight of that which they had desired for so many years. They entreated Him that the work might progress until, the enemies who remained in those regions having received the faith of Jesus Christ, they and the other long-time Christians might enjoy the desired peace and quiet.

TERRENATE

The governor's great care and vigilance in preparing and arranging the fleet of Mindanao did not cause him to forget the other enemy--infested posts that his Majesty possesses in this archipelago. At the same time, he despatched another very good fleet, consisting of two large ships, one patache, and one galley, under command of General Geronimo Henriquez, as a guard to a number of champans which were taking the succor to the forts of Terrenate. Two excellent ships of the Dutch enemy were awaiting them at the entrance. When they saw the courage of our men the enemy retired in flight to the shelter of their fort of Malayo, without daring to await them. The Spaniards were so keen for fighting that, hastily leaving in safety the aid which they were taking, they started in pursuit of the hostile galleons, and did not stop until they met these under the enemy's fort, where they had gone. There they fired so many volleys, both at the ships and at the fort and village, that (as was learned afterward from some who took refuge with our ships) very considerable damage was done, without the Dutch daring to sail out, or being able to do us any damage of importance. That was a very great cause for scoffing against the enemy, and they lost as much reputation among those Moros, as was gained by the Spaniards, especially with the king of Tidore, our friend, who very joyfully thanked the commander Henriquez and the admiral, Don Pedro de Almonte, with presents for that action of so great valor and gallantry.

One month after that fleet had returned to Manila, Don Pedro de Mendiola, governor of Terrenate, heard that two Dutch ships were becalmed not a great distance from there. He instantly despatched two galleys, which together spiritedly attacked the better of the two ships. After it had been entirely defeated, and our men were about to board it, a strong wind which suddenly arose snatched it from their hands, although it was badly crippled by the discharges from our galleys. The latter received no considerable damage. Thereupon that enemy were greatly terrified; the Moro natives received a very exalted idea of the Spaniards, while the latter were very joyful at beholding the arms of the king our sovereign, even in these most remote bounds of the earth, shine with the luster and splendor that they merit.

With license. In Madrid. Printed by Diego Diaz de la Carrera, in the year 1639.

VALUE OF CORCUERA'S SEIZURES IN JOLO

[Under date of Manila, August 2, 1638, the city cabildo of Manila write the king a detailed account of Corcuera's campaign in Jolo, which was begun in December, 1637. Inasmuch as this letter covers ground sufficiently treated in documents already presented in this series, it is not here given. The original is conserved in the Archivo general de Indias with pressmark, "est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 32;" and it is presented by Pastells in his edition of Colin (iii, pp. 528-532). Pastells (iii, pp. 532, 533) follows this letter by a document showing the value of the artillery and other things seized from the Joloans, and the money value of the captives who were sold as slaves. This document is conserved in the same archives and has the same pressmark as the above. It is as follows:]

The relation of the expense incurred on his Majesty's account during the expedition made to the kingdom of Jolo by Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, in December, 1637; also the value of what was seized and gained from the enemy; and the net gain. Subtracting the one from the other, the result is as follows:

pesos tomins granos

Gained from the enemy, 28,345 7 0
Expenses of the expedition, 26,314 5 4

Net remainder of gain, 2,031 1 6

The value of what was gained from the enemy can be analyzed in the following form:

[A list, partially duplicate, of the artillery taken from the Joloans follows, of which we present only the final summary, in order to avoid such duplication. It appears that the artillery when taken to Manila was appraised by one Melchor Perez, royal chief of artillery and artillery-founder.]

Bronze artillery, useful

Pieces Weight in quintals and libras
Make Weight of ball in libras
Value of one quintal in pesos
Total value in pesos

1 English 11 3 30 330 1 falcon of King Don Sebastian of Portugal 11 4 28 308 2 of King Don Sebastian of Portugal 15 10 26 390 1 Manila, of the time of Tavora 26,80 10 26 670 21 camaras [26] 124

Bronze artillery, useless, appraised merely at the value of the copper

1 English 11 3 12 132 1 Siamese 4 1 12-1/2 54 10 versos 14 12 168

Cast-iron artillery

1 English 7 35 3 12-1/2 91 1 Macao 12-1/2 4 12 156 1 English 11 4 12-1/2 137 1 Dutch 10 88 12-1/2 136 1 English 12 25 5 12-1/2 153 1 Dutch 12 25 5 12-1/2 153 1 English 10 45 5 12-1/2 130 1 English 14 63 7 12-1/2 182 1 Dutch 18 9 12-1/2 225 1 English 21 33 9 12-1/2 266 1 Dutch 24 97 11 12, and 1 tomin 312 1 iron base [roquero] 4

Firearms

pesos

3 Vizcayan arquebuses 12 10-1/2 Macao muskets 31 11 Vizcayan field muskets 66 1 Dutch arquebus 4 19 Macao arquebuses 57 16 Dutch muskets 64 1 musket de pinote of Macao 4 2 Vizcayan arquebuses 10 7 arquebuses from Macao 21 7 Japanese small guns [escopetillas] 21 2 Vizcayan field muskets 12 5 Dutch arquebuses 15 10 Dutch muskets 50 1 bit of a Vizcayan gun [escopeta] 1

Besides the above, in cloth or money, 2,866 [pesos]; in small darts and blowpipes, 50 [pesos].

Lastly, from 192 captive Indians--men, women, and children--sold as his Majesty's slaves at royal auction, 20,815 pesos. Of this amount 10,375 pesos were in cash, in coin; and the 10,440 remaining were charged to the pay due the infantry and seamen.

DOCUMENTS OF 1639-1640

Events in Philipinas, 1638-39. [Unsigned; probably Juan Lopez,
1639.]
Letters to the Holy Misericordia. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera;
December 4, 1637, and October 26, 1639.
The university of Santo Tomas. Felipe IV; November 9, 1639.
Royal orders and decrees. Felipe IV; 1639.
Events in the Filipinas Islands, 1639-40. [Juan Lopez?]; August,
1640.
Relation of the insurrection of the Chinese. [Unsigned and
undated; probably in March, 1640.]
Ecclesiastical and Augustinian affairs, 1630-40. Casimiro
Diaz; [1718?]. [From his Conquistas.]
Relation of the Filipinas Islands. [Diego de Bobadilla, S.J.;
1640.]

Sources: The first of these documents is obtained from a MS. in the Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid; the second, from a MS. volume in the library of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago; the third, and the eighth decree in the fourth, from the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; the fourth (except the above-mentioned decree), from the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid; the fifth and sixth, from the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer library); the seventh, from Diaz's Conquistas, pp. 267-444; the eighth, from Thevenot's Voyages curieux, t. i, part ii--from a copy belonging to the library of Harvard University.

Translations: These are made by James A. Robertson--except the fifth, sixth, and seventh, and two decrees in the fourth, by Emma Helen Blair.

EVENTS IN THE PHILIPINAS

FROM THE YEAR 1638 TO THAT OF 1639

Today, August 14, I learned that thirteen Macasars and Basilas, of those who had been sold as slaves, had fled in a small boat, and that they had been furnished with arms. Some suspected that the Lascars aided them. A few days before, six of them had fled, but they were captured and brought to this port by the Indians of Maragondon.

At the end of September Nuestra Senora del Rosario [i.e., our Lady of the Rosary] was robbed. Only three jewels were taken from her--a diamond of the value of one thousand two hundred pesos; a cross of smaller diamonds; and a gold rosary. The holy image was found in a prostrate condition. It is said that there are some indications of the robber. A portion of the robe was found in the possession of a soldier; but he says that he found it on the ground, and it has been impossible to prove anything else.

In the beginning of October came a despatch from Sanboangan, in which it is declared that although the Spaniards tried to constrain Cachil Moncay to make his men pay the tribute, he replied that he would not do so, but that he would take arms and declare war. In fact, he retired to the mountains and took captive Father Francisco Angel; but another chief, his opponent, had the boldness to take the father from him and deliver him to the Spaniards.

We are advised from Jolo that many of our men have been killed; and that the islanders who have remained there have suffered great famine, and consequently, an epidemic and plague is feared. It is also said that Panguian a cachil, together with Dato Ache, has retreated with almost all the brave men of Jolo to the island of Tabitabi, [27] where they have fortified another hill, and are preparing ships to go out to pillage our tributaries. The king and queen are in Jolo without anyone paying any attention to them; and Panguian Cachil is trying to make himself king of the Joloans.

Three ships left this port for Macan: the Macan patache, on the thirteenth of October; on the fourteenth, that from Camboja; and on the sixteenth, that which came from India. It has to return here to collect its goods which it left here [for sale] on commission [fiada], and will go hence to Goa.

October 26, a champan from Sanboangan arrived, in which was Father Gregorio Belin, seeking the reformation that is especially demanded by affairs in Jolo, whose commandant [28] has prevented many good results and been the cause of many evils, by his bad government and scandalous conduct. Don Sebastian [Hurtado de Corcuera] removed him, as he was already well informed of what has taken place there. Father Pedro Gutierrez informs us about Mindanao in a letter which he writes to the father provincial, as follows.

Letter from Father Pedro Gutierrez

"These three posts of Sanboangan, Jolo, and Mindanao, were left so destitute, for lack of the little fleet that was here at the beginning, that I am surprised that the commandant, Don Pedro de Almonte, has been able to attend with so great promptness to the necessities that have arisen. The time when the [lack of the] fleet began to be felt was when a soldier and a Pampango were brought badly wounded from Basilan. In order to remedy the damages that might ensue from not inflicting punishment, it was necessary to equip a caracoa with Pampangos and servants of the Spaniards. The matter was entrusted to Adjutant Cristoval de las Eras, who had the two evildoers shot in Basilan. Then, seeing that the Spaniards who were in Basilan were poorly accommodated, and without any defense, he advised the commandant, Don Pedro; and, by virtue of the order sent him, he built a fortified house in a very good position. After the people of the mountain (some of whom had absented themselves through fear) had calmed down, he returned to this port.

"During that time the commandant, Don Pedro, was already getting ready a small fleet among the Lutaos, in order to attack the Joloans who had gone to Tabitabi and other islands. That he might accomplish this, he requested a good juanga which was at Dapitan, whence it was brought with fifty Indians. With one that he procured from those that his Majesty had here, and those which he had made by the Lutao chiefs, he had five caracoas with four pieces of artillery, besides three other small boats called pilanes, all of them excellently equipped with infantry and ammunition.

"While the fleet was on the point of being despatched, news arrived from Mindanao of various acts of treachery which Moncay, chief of Buayen, had attempted against the Spaniards; and that he had seized Father Angel; and that after the said father had escaped from them, they fell upon the food and the household effects that the father left, thus declaring themselves. But the commandant, Don Pedro, seeing the danger in delaying help, and knowing that if Corralat and Manaquior were to unite with Moncay much damage might be done, determined to send the fleet that was prepared for Jolo to Mindanao. For greater abundance, he added a champan with food and ammunition for the said fleet, and as an aid to the fort at Buayen. He charged Adjutant Cristoval de las Eras with all this, on account of his experience as a good soldier, and his knowledge of wars with the Indians. In addition he charged me to go in the fleet, so that I might see Corralat and Manaquior; and as that was my affair, and the Spaniards were not to meddle in it, it was made certain that those chiefs would not unite with Moncay. We came near to Lamitan, where Corralat was living, and I found Father Carrion, who was with Corralat, and who was coming to Sanboangan to ask for an order to make peace with Manaquior, to make war on Moncay, to talk to Corralat, in order that he should not unite with Moncay, and to request succor in some things. I told him that the commandant Don Pedro had already prepared for all that he wanted, and more; and that he was sending that fleet, collected as if by a miracle. The father was very much surprised by that, and even told me that if they saw what had been done, they would not believe it in Buayen; for, as they know the limited resources in Sanboangan, they had not dared to ask for a single soldier.

"I landed alone, and the fleet went to await me at La Zabanilla. I talked to Corralat, and he promised me all that I wanted. For greater security, he told me that he would give two caracoas to guard me. He offered me four, but I did not desire more than two, which he sent after me. It was diverting to hear the Mindanaos say that on no account must they separate from my caracoa; and when I told them, as we were returning, to stay behind and look for food, that did not avail, for they told me that they were not to leave me until I should return, and they kept their word.