Chapter VII: Part 7

In order to be ready for everything, the governor also went to Santa Cruz with Master-of-camp Don Lorenzo de Olaso, on the possibility that the enemy (who were running, not marching) would attempt an entrance by way of Santa Cruz--as they actually did, not having had warning of the arrival of our troops, or knowing how ready the city was to resist them without the soldiers. The Chinese at Santa Cruz who were friendly were told that they might go down the river, with their vessels, to the shelter and protection of the fort; and those who were not were told to do as they pleased, so that they might be thoroughly aware how little importance was attached to their revolt. Many others went on board their boats, to the number of some two hundred; professing to be loyal, they asked permission to go out and fight their own countrymen, in order to drive them back. Those who had charge of them had strong suspicions of their undertaking and intentions, but the governor gave his consent; and in his very sight those Chinese approached and joined the traitors, and began with them to take possession of Santa Cruz--now declared enemies to us, although they had a little while before been pretended friends. Half the street they held as their own, the careful arrangements of the governor giving them all this space so that our men might manage their guns more safely. The Spaniards began to fire these so skilfully, and to oppose the enemy so valiantly that, many of the Chinese being killed, they found themselves compelled by the force of our resistance to turn and run, displaying no little swiftness in their flight. The governor left their punishment to General Don Juan de Esquerra and his brother, Admiral Don Francisco--the first with some horsemen, the second with his infantry company and some other footmen, who intercepted the enemy on the rear--at the same time ordering the master-of-camp to fortify himself in the church of Santa Cruz, planting in it some strong artillery, so that he might be well prepared for resisting the insurgents, and for checking the designs, suspected although not manifest, of the Chinese in the Parian. Immediately all that company [of infantry] fell apart, so as to give room for the free handling of the cannon; and, the village of Santa Cruz being set afire, the Spaniards and Indians pillaged it. [57] In it were the troops from Manila; and when they reached the lands of Meyhaligue the horsemen, infantry, and Japanese attacked the Sangleys; the latter fighting with barbarous desperation, were aided by the great number of their men in stations and ambuscades. They killed some of our men, among these Captain Agustin Tenorio, Captain Juan Martin[ez] de Avendano, Adjutant Cristobal de Saldado, and Alferez Pedro de Soria; and others were wounded. Thirteen [58] Japanese were killed, who could not be relieved [in time] by the valor of our horsemen--which, although great on all occasions, in this one even surpassed itself. Those who died sold their lives dearly, and those who survived risked their lives nobly. The danger was alike for all, and their courage equal; but their fate was not the same. Finally, those who remained alive thought themselves fortunate that they could retreat, considering the great number of those who attacked them, the exhausted condition of their horses, little used to such raids, and the advantage of position which the insurgents had over them. The latter, although they saw many of their men stretched on the field, held that loss as gain--since they were so numerous, and constantly saw more men joining them--on account of the decrease of the Spaniards' number by death, of which they made haughty boasts, cherishing hopes of greater successes. The governor commanded that the troops and artillery that were in Santa Cruz should that night be withdrawn to the city, in order not to leave Manila in danger from a sudden insurrection in the Parian, which was momently feared; also to leave the enemy in perplexity--having seen that fortification by day, and not being aware of the [Spanish] retreat so that they might not dare to approach the river, or attempt to pass it, in the night. He commanded that the bridge over it should be removed, and the boats that were there broken up, so that the Chinese [of Santa Cruz and the Parian] might not cross to each other; at the same time he gave orders that, if there should be any tumult in the Parian, it should be demolished by the artillery on the city walls. The whole city remained in suspense and uncertainty, which was greatly increased by seeing how numerous grew the forces of the insurgents. These, made arrogant by their recent exploit, roamed through all the [surrounding] districts, nothing escaping their cruelty. Several times they attacked the church and convent of Tondo, [59] which was fortified; but our people in it were prepared for them, so that, having lost many men, they saw themselves obliged to desist for the time from their intention. They undertook to make themselves masters of the church at Binondo, [60] but with the same result; for the Sangley mestizos who were in the church, desirous of giving proof of their loyalty, resisted the enemy, who accordingly regarded their attempt as impracticable, or [at least] exceedingly difficult.

The Sangleys of the Parian revolt

From the twenty-sixth of November to the second of the following month the insurgent Sangleys continued to be so elated that every day we saw them from Manila, on the other side of the river, with many little banners which they proudly waved, daring the bolder of our men to fight; for they thought that even if every Spaniard cost them fifty of their own men, they would finally remain conquerors, and masters of the country, on account of the smallness of our numbers, the many men in their camp, and the accession of those who were continually joining them. Our artillery quickly made them disperse and retreat; but the decision was reached that it was not expedient to sally out against the enemy, on account of the little confidence that was felt in the Sangleys of the Parian, and because our army could not hold these in check [no les cogiesen por las espaldas] if it were engaged in a campaign. But on the second of December, the day of the great apostle of India, St. Francis Javier, between ten and eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the suspense came to an end, and our uncertainty regarding the fidelity of the Parian was cleared up. For those Sangleys, seeing that the insurgents had more troops than on former occasions, and that they were more daringly undertaking to make an attack at one side, also raised the banner of revolt, and sallied out from the shops in which they were; and they killed some negroes and Indians, and a few soldiers who were stationed near the church of the Parian itself. They raised an outcry, "For the bridge!" and "To arms against the Spaniards!" desiring to join their countrymen by way of the bridge, which for this purpose had been replaced. The sargento-mayor went out against them with the infantry which were in garrison on that side, and made them turn back, retreating toward the church of the Parian; and because the greatest danger was at the bridge, the master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo de Olaso, went to defend that passage. Although his men were few, with gallant defiance he repulsed the main body of the enemy; but he saw that he was in great danger, and his very courage extricated him. Immediately they began to demolish the Parian, and to throw down their houses on the land side. The governor went to the walls, to give orders as to what must be done in view of the present necessity; and, since there was so great need of men, all the ecclesiastics and religious were obliged to go with arms to guard the walls, as it was suspected that the enemy might attempt to scale them. At that time the city was full of confusion and tumult; for as there were even in the [Spanish] houses so great a number of Sangleys, the people within these saw that they were in danger if the Sangleys escaped outside. To free themselves from this, the cry was made, I know not by whose order, that, under penalty of treason all should kill the Sangleys whom they kept, [61] which immediately rendered active the indignation or the hatred against them. Through all the streets the Sangleys were seen lying dead; and everywhere were heard their outcries or their weeping, causing in all natural compassion, [even] in the midst of the general danger. In the fort were many Sangleys who had been seized in various sallies, who, seeing death so near, tried to escape it, defending themselves even in the place where they were imprisoned; but they all died there, slain by arquebus-balls. The artillery continued its fire from the walls, killing thus a great number of the Sangleys. Others flung themselves into the river, but immediately fell into the hands of some of our men who were guarding it in boats, and perished miserably. Fire was set to the Parian; it immediately began to burn, and a great quantity of wealth was reduced to ashes by the flames. [62] Many persons who had concealed themselves were burned to death; others, who thought it a less evil to be the object of our men's harshness than to become the prey of the flames, rushing from the buildings, threw themselves upon the sharp swords. Thus in a few hours the costly structure of the Parian [perished], and its beautiful church alone was left [63] as a memento of what had been there--the pillars of stone which remained standing being monuments, as it were, which proclaimed, "Here stood Troya." The number of those who died that day in the city and fort, in the Parian, and in the river, amounted to three thousand, according to the statement of those who make the most moderate estimates. On the morning of the following day, some two hundred traders came out from some marshes and miry places that were behind the Parian; they had buried themselves in the mud there, in order to preserve their lives in the general misfortune of their countrymen. All came with crosses in their hands, entreating mercy; this could not be denied to them by Christian charity, all the more when it was known that these men were not accomplices in the insurrection. Command was therefore given that they be conveyed to the fort, where they were kept under guard; and they were aided with their support in a time of so great need, in which they were utterly destitute. Many of those who died had time [allowed them] to become Christians first, and those who already were such, to make their confessions; others were deprived of this by their own obstinacy, or by the sudden anger of our people.

Events at the port of Cavite and other places at this time

There was anxiety at the port of Cavite when they heard the cannon from Manila, and saw the clouds of smoke from the Parian; then news of the result arrived, with an order to the warden of the fort, Sargento-mayor Alonso Garcia Romero, to put to the sword all the Sangleys who were in that port. [64] Hardly was this information guessed at when all the people--Spaniards, Indians, Japanese, Sangleys, and mulattoes ran in dismay through the streets; all suspected one another, and all tried to secure their own safety. The women and the more valuable articles of property were collected in the churches; and there prayers were offered aloud, entreating God for mercy. In the present tumult, the prudence with which the warden acted was of great value; for he restored tranquillity among all, especially the Sangleys, who were most disturbed. Within half an hour he gathered about a thousand of them in the royal buildings, making it known that this was for the purpose of securing them from the public fury. They were satisfied with this, closed their houses, and proceeded to take refuge in the buildings assigned to them. While the Ave Maria was ringing, the warden went to all the religious orders, requesting that priests should go to baptize the infidels and hear the confessions of the Christians, since all of them must die. They went immediately; and the warden commanded that the Chinese should be taken out by tens, on the pretext that the governor had summoned them to Manila. In this way, they cut off the heads of as many as three hundred Sangleys, many of them receiving the sacrament of baptism, and many who were Christians that of penance. At this time a Spaniard made the mistake of cutting off the purses which the Sangleys always carry with them; this was seen by some, who immediately called out that they were taking the Chinese away to kill them, and that the rest would better put themselves on the defensive, and either save their lives or sell them dearly. The Spaniards who were inside at once tried to escape, and did so, although with some wounds from stones, taking the precaution to close the gate of exit--a prudent act of great importance, because the rest of the Spaniards, running up to that place, began to fire their arquebuses wherever they could. The Sangleys then set fire to the royal building, close to the gate, in order to make an opening by which they could escape; others, climbing above, began to throw stones and tiles at the Spaniards, and broke in pieces an ivory image of the blessed Christ, with which they wounded some of our men. Many Indian women had been sheltered in these buildings the day before, thinking that they would there be safe, and seeing themselves suddenly in extreme danger. Only three of these, with one child, died on this occasion, at the hands of the Sangleys; another woman and another child flung themselves down from the windows, but, falling upon some dead Sangleys, they received no injury of importance. Nor did the rest of these women, who, seeing their danger, did the same; they threw themselves down and remained safe, although bruised by the fall. The fire was now seizing on the entire building; [65] and those within, with death so near and in their sight, broke down the wall on two sides, and as many as four hundred flung themselves through this opening, the rest remaining among the flames. Here they were opposed by the Spaniards and Japanese, whom the Sangleys confronted with such mad fury that, although armed only with stones and clubs, they strove to make way for themselves, wounding some of our men (among these the warden), and killing two Japanese. Finally they took the road to the beach, and, being pursued thither, many of them continued to fall until, being hindered by a fishing corral in which they were crowded together, they were a mark for the bullets of our soldiers, and for the balls from a blunderbuss which was fired from the fort of La Magdalena, and thus thirty of them died. Those who remained alive went out into the country, continually pursued by our soldiers at short range, so that few escaped; and most of those were caught next day by the ranchmen. Others hanged themselves from the trees; and, according to the best information that can be obtained, only twenty three were left who could carry the news to those in Manila. The slaughter continued on the following day, since there were many who were hidden in the houses. This success was a great mercy of God; for it was afterward known that the Sangleys of the port had agreed upon an uprising for that very night; they had planned to set fire to the village in all parts of it, which they could have executed all the more easily because their houses were very near to those of the Spaniards. In the house of a rich Chinese Christian was found the banner to which they were to rally. Many kept hidden in the fireplaces pincers with which they intended to torture certain Spaniards by tearing away their flesh piecemeal, in revenge for the Sangley pirates who were punished by that torture in Manila in the past year. [66] The number of those who died in the port of Cavite reached one thousand three hundred. Immediately afterward all the Sangley laborers on the lands in that district revolted, of whom some five hundred perished at the hands of the Indians and ranchmen--not to speak of others who were scattered in Maragondon and Silan, probably four hundred and fifty. Many were also killed in the neighboring jurisdictions: in Bulacan, three hundred; in Pampanga, six hundred; in Pangasinan, two hundred; in Taal and Balayan, five hundred. Besides this, the corpses of more than six hundred Sangleys have been encountered in the villages and coasts of Zambales, the coasts of Maderas, and other places. [67]

Encampment of the insurgents; damages which they inflict; levies of men to oppose them

The damages which the Sangleys continued to commit--which were especially seen among the recent arrivals in the Parian--have been very heavy. They set fire to many houses of Spaniards and of religious; and they burned the villages, with the churches, profaning all that was sacred [68]--hacking the images with knives, wearing the chasubles, and making from the altar-coverings garments to cover themselves, and flags. Some of these articles were taken from them, in encounters which the Spaniards had with them. The villages which, with their churches, were burned were: Santa Cruz (although they did not entirely destroy it), Quiapo, Meyhaligue, Sampaloc, San Sebastian, San Francisco del Monte, and part of San Juan de la Penitencia. They also burned the ranches of Santiago Castelu (or Gastelu), General Asaldegui, Admiral Ezquerra, and others; and a large part of the villages of Tondo and Binondo.

They arrogantly continued these forays, and they were further confirmed in their notion that they were masters of the field by having therein more than twenty-six thousand fighting men, and knowing that the Spaniards who could be assembled hardly amounted to three hundred. Accordingly they formed their encampment opposite Manila, with fortifications at intervals, where they remained about twenty days, without our men crossing the river to attack them--the Spaniards contenting themselves with depriving the Sangleys of boats, so that the latter might not cross from the other side; and they waged war on us in two directions. It was our prudent decision, and its importance was recognized by the insurgents, not to let our force of soldiers be weakened; and they exerted all their strength to overcome it, sparing no effort in order to carry out their intention, and in one case almost succeeding. Only by their great [number was it] [69] possible, and their natural ingenuity; they undertook to intercept the river, although it was so broad and deep, with a causeway of stone--a work which they were able to complete in a short time, by each Sangley carrying only one stone. With this they were masters of the river as regards its passage, which they prevented to the boats which were coming down with provisions from Laguna de Bay; but they were checked in this by the diligence of those who had in charge the safety of those supplies. These were General Asaldegui and Captain Ugalde, who had various skirmishes with the Sangleys to keep them back from the passage of the river, killing many of them without serious loss of our men. By that time, recognizing the dangerous character of the war, and that it would apparently be a long one, the governor continued to make provision of all sorts of munitions and food; and raised levies of men from Pampanga [70] and other jurisdictions--not only arquebusiers, but Indians armed with arrows, lances, and shields. At this summons, all showed their fidelity to the king, their affection for the Spaniards, their hatred to the Chinese, and their promptness in obedience. The Pampango Indians quickly rallied, constrained not only by their ancient loyalty but by the present need; in this they were not a little encouraged by seeing the spirited conduct of their women whom they left behind, who offered to come with them to fight. As it was impracticable to accept this offer, they were ready, even at the cost of their lives, to defend their homes and villages, in case the insurgents should undertake to enter these.

The enemy are dislodged, and pursued as far as Bocaue

The new soldiers who had come to the succor of Manila, desirous of encountering the enemy--for which there was not yet opportunity, according to the arrangements of the governor--made forays through the open country, in small bands, always with good success. [71] They were encouraged to these sallies by the reward which the governor offered to any one who should bring in the head of an enemy; as a result, many heads came in to the city every day. A large number of men having been collected, the governor resolved to post troops close to the very camp of the insurgents, in order to surround them; and although they tried to prevent this, they were unable to do so. Instead, they found themselves, in all the attacks that they made, compelled to retire with losses always of many men--although on one occasion, when the governor with the master-of-camp and some Spaniards undertook to reconnoiter a position, the Sangleys came about them, placing them in such evident danger that they were very fortunate in being able to escape. This was secured by the coming, with succor, of Captain Sebastian de Gastelu, who was stationed at a neighboring post, with his men. Some took the governor for the master-of-camp. The sargento-mayor, Don Pedro de Jara, and Captain Gastelu peppered them well with the artillery, which caused them so great loss that even within their very camp they were not safe. Preparations were now made [on our side] for attacking them on a set day; but it seems that the enemy, guessing this plan, and the disastrous result which they might expect from it, since they were surrounded on all sides by towers and redoubts, concluded to take flight. This they did on Thursday, December 29, at night, with so much silence (since the [word in MS. missing] was so great) that there was no indication or suspicion of their resolve until, on the morning of the next day, certain knowledge of their departure was furnished by our noticing that they did not sally out into the open country. The governor, who was in our camp, immediately commanded that the enemy's camp be delivered over to pillage; in it they found more than ten thousand fanegas of rice, by which not only the Spaniards but the negroes and Indians of the surrounding villages profited. The governor went in pursuit of them with his men, and got sight of them between the villages of Pasig and San Mateo, to which they had gone with the intention of crossing the river on rafts, for which purpose they had cut there twenty thousand bamboos. They were prevented from this, and our people prepared to give them battle on Saturday, December 31; but the Chinese did not wait for them, but took to flight that night also. Our troops continued to pursue them, [72] and reached them at nightfall, finding them encamped in the village of San Jose, a visita of Bocaue, which is a mission village of the fathers of St. Francis. When the governor was asked there where our men were to be lodged, he replied, "Where the enemy are." Our soldiers were so honorably obedient that, crossing a stream that separated the two forces, they dislodged the Sangleys from their camp, compelling them to flee; the enemy left behind the supper that they had prepared, as spoils [for our men, disregarding] the opportunity, and its importance for the hungry and needy condition in which they were. [73]

On the first of January, 1640, in the morning, the Sangleys were attacked by our men, and forced to do as they had done the night before--although with greater loss, since many in their flight rushed head-long into the river, where they perished. The rest took the road to Pampanga, intending to secure through that province a passage to that of Pangasinan; but, after fighting their way, and receiving damage on all sides, they fell back to Bocaue. This move caused anxiety among our people, who feared that the Sangleys did this with the intention of again crossing the river of Manila, in which case they would destroy, as they had already done on the side opposite [Manila], the churches and villages on the other side. Seeing, then, the danger at this time of need, and considering that the soldiers were with the governor and the citizens acting as garrison, and that in no place could the forces be divided, since everywhere they were so small, father Fray Juan Ramirez, the Augustinian provincial, offered to keep guard over the river with his religious, and asked the other religious orders to help him in this with such men as they could spare. All willingly gave their aid, and the governor also sent the commander of the galleys, Andres Lopez de Asaldegui, for the same purpose; and, aided by so many religious, he kept the river safe for our trade, and prevented the enemy from crossing it. At Bocaue the governor was confronting the enemy, and having various skirmishes with them, being sometimes the attacker, sometimes the attacked; and although usually these occasioned loss to the enemy, sometimes also our people lost--especially one day when a large troop of Indians, with a number of Spaniards, sallied out against the Sangleys. The latter resorted to the artifice of setting fire in all directions to the patches of sedge (or rather the fields of cogon [74]), which were a great cause for fear; and the Indians, unexpectedly surrounded by fire, took to disorderly flight. This was the cause of some few Spaniards being left there dead; their firearms were seized by the Sangleys, who with these did considerable damage to our men. On this occasion the governor was in notable danger; for he, considering that the enemy's encampment was in an advantageous location, convenient to food-supplies, and having plenty of water (which our camp lacked), determined to dislodge them from it. For this purpose, on the night of January 9 he erected a tower near the enemy's camp, defended by ditches, spikes driven into the ground [empuyados], and a stockade, and well furnished with artillery. He appointed as its commander the chief captain of the artillery, Juan Bautista de Molina, with Captain Gastelu [as second]; and placed in it two artillerists, twenty soldiers, and a hundred Indians armed with arrows and arquebuses. When the Sangleys, in the morning, saw the new fort, so unexpected to them, they rushed with great fury to carry it by assault; but those within defended it valiantly, making great havoc among the enemy. Hearing the report of the cannon, the governor and the master-of-camp hastened to give them aid. Before they could arrive, the enemy turned their backs and fled to their camp; the governor and those who accompanied him therefore returned to their quarters. At one o'clock the Sangleys again endeavored to seize the fort; they found the same resistance and valor among our men as in the morning, and many of their people were killed, without any loss to us, except that a bullet wounded Captain Gastelu in the knee. At the time, this injury was not considered dangerous or likely to last long; but finally, at the end of five months it caused his death, to the sorrow of every one that his Majesty should lose in him a valiant and energetic officer. The governor and the master-of-camp came, as in the morning, to the aid of the fort; but the enemy were now retreating, and, the governor sending four men on horseback to reconnoiter their course, God inspired such fear in those who were retreating that they began to flee in a disorderly crowd, leaving in their camp their weapons (lances and arquebuses) and a large quantity of provisions. Some of our men followed them for the distance of half a legua, and in that space killed more than one thousand five hundred of them; and when the soldiers of our force were called together, the affair could be considered by them all as concluded. It was regarded as a great victory, on account of the great fear which had filled the minds of the Sangleys, the utter disorder and confusion with which they fled, and our having gained from them an encampment so convenient, with the death of so many and the booty of so many weapons; and the news of it was sent to Manila at ten o'clock that night. It was received with general satisfaction and the ringing of bells; and on the following day in all the churches solemn masses were said before the most holy sacrament, by way of thanksgiving for so fortunate a success, and in supplication to that same Lord that He would continue that favor to our forces.

The enemy return to Sagar and San Mateo

The governor had no information of the road that the enemy took in their flight; accordingly, while he was waiting for this, he endeavored to have his army take some rest in the village of Bocaue. But little rest did the insurgents have; for, seeing the misfortunes that pursued them, and so many of their men (in whose numbers they were trusting to make themselves masters of the country) dead, or wounded, or disheartened, they resolved to remove from [the vicinity of] our camp. Returning to their familiar haunts of Sagar and San Mateo--which is a visita of the village of Pasig, belonging to the fathers of St. Augustine--desirous of avenging their defeats and the loss of their dead, and feeling safe on account of our troops being so far away, they sent some bands of their people to burn the church and village of Pasig, which they did. Other Sangleys, roaming through the hills, found among them some tiny hamlets of the natives, where they had concealed their valuables, and their children and wives, to save them from the common danger; and these were in very great danger of falling into the hands of these enemies. Our Lord delivered these people, although the Sangleys took possession of what they found in the huts. Then their scattered bands being reunited with those whom they had sent to hunt for provisions, they formed their camp on a hill, and the various bands built shelters for themselves.

As soon as the governor knew where the enemy were now encamped, he went in pursuit of them, and on the twelfth [of January] he halted on the river San Mateo. The next day he went in person, with some few horsemen, to reconnoiter, and on the way encountered a troop of about a hundred Sangleys; fifty of them were armed, and the rest were laden with rice and other provisions. Our men attacked them and killed twenty or more of the Sangleys, without any loss on our side--although Captain Juan Fiallo found himself in great danger. On this as on other occasions he displayed honorable proofs of his valor; for, having wounded a Sangley in the forehead with a lance-thrust, and felled him to the ground, the latter, suddenly raising himself from between the horse's feet, slashed at him with a Japanese catana, with which at one thrust he wounded both the captain and the horse. The captain quickly turned his horse about, and securing room for using his lance, ran it entirely through the Sangley's body, at one side; it pierced so deeply that it was impossible to pull out the weapon, so he had to leave it sticking in the body. But the Sangley, with the anguish or the desperation of death, eager to avenge it rather than endure it, with his own hands drew out the lance, and, bracing himself with it on the ground, attempted to attack the man who had wounded him. But at this moment he was himself attacked by a lay religious belonging to the Society of Jesus, who rendered good service in the war throughout its active period--and at this time with especial good fortune, since he freed the captain from danger by completing the killing of the Sangley. All the rest of the Sangleys fled, and the governor returned to his camp, to give orders for the attack on the enemy, who during all the time while they remained in the hills never ceased from inflicting damages. They burned the church of San Mateo, and that of Taytay, a house and church of the Society of Jesus, and a visita of Antipolo; also Santa Cruz and Mahayhay. According to what many of them said, their chief incentive to setting these fires was what happened to a certain Sangley. Desiring to become a Christian, he buried an idol which he had, of which they relate fables very similar to those about Mars, calling it "the god of battles." This Christian Sangley was one of the insurgents, and, desiring to appease this god, managed with others to disinter it, entreating its protection on the present occasion. They say that the idol spoke to them, saying that it considered itself appeased and satisfied for the previous injury done to it; and promising them, besides this, its favor, provided that they would burn all the churches, profane all that was sacred, and inflict on the Christians all the harm that they possibly could.

Success of our troops, and defeat of the enemy in Antipolo

The enemy, not regarding themselves as safe in the mountains where they had hidden, managed to retreat to those of Antipolo, as being more suitable for the fortified post which they built there. On account of the extent of the place, the greater part of their people had gone into it, after burning the village and the residence of the Society of Jesus; they attempted to do the same with the church, but could not accomplish this, as it was built of stone. Some remained behind, and, desirous of reconnoitering the place, and doing the enemy some damage, Captain Juan Fiallo went out with as many as thirty horsemen, and a large number of Indians with lances and bows. The roads were exceedingly rugged, and both footmen and horsemen had to trust to their own exertions for success. They commenced to make their way through the mountains, with more spirit than reflection, for at the middle of their journey they found themselves unable to go on. The enemy were on their rear, and at either side were precipices and deep ravines--all the fault of ignorant guides. It was impossible either to advance or to retreat; and so they fell in death, one after another, their courage ineffectual, and without room in which to make resistance. Accordingly, they rushed to fling themselves down the precipices, abandoning some their horses and some their weapons, and all in this danger losing their presence of mind. The enemy had the opportunity to put an end to all of our men, if God had not blinded their eyes. Five or six Spaniards, with their arms and horses, returned to the camp and gave news of this disaster; and within a few days some others returned, unarmed and on foot; as for the rest, the Sangleys disposed of them as we shall see later.

The governor, grieved at this result, collected more horses from the neighboring ranches, and, sending to Manila for saddles, equipped his men anew, all eager for vengeance. This consumed much time, which gave the enemy leisure to fortify themselves in four places, in the village of Antipolo and in the mountain region thereabout; but it deprived our troops of [the opportunity of] marching against the enemy until they arrived in sight of the new fortifications. The difficulty of the attack was very evident, for the enemy held the heights, and had stones with which they had built their enclosures, by hand-work, very strong and well-arranged, as was remarked by our men. In this work, the great number of their men, and their strenuous efforts, had made up for the lack of time. No less active were our men in making ready [for the attack]; and the more difficult the undertaking, the more their courage rose. The Indians displayed great gallantry, with a few Spaniards making themselves masters of the first two strongholds or intrenchments--from which the enemy retreated with the loss of some of their men; the rest, a crowd of armed men, taking refuge in the other two defences, at the highest part of the fortification, regarded these as impregnable, and accordingly kept in them provisions of all kinds, enough to last a long time. There they awaited our men, who marched in good order, and attacked the first intrenchment on three sides. They were everywhere preceded by Indian shield-bearers, in order that these might with their shields stop the stones and other missiles that the Sangleys were throwing; the Indians did this valiantly, being thus very helpful to the rest of the army; for the Spaniards, being able to use their firearms without hindrance, with them everywhere drove back the enemy. The latter, discouraged at the death of so many of their number, and seeing our soldiers ascending the hill, took to flight. This gave new energy to our victorious men, who in order to complete their conquest at once continued their march, with the same good order and precaution, to the innermost fortification, the strongest and most difficult of all, and the most skilfully built and best provided with supplies. Nothing withstood the perseverance of our men, flushed by their recent success, and stimulated by the sight of their governor, who was present throughout the action; they eagerly attacked the enemy, who valiantly resisted, replying with their firearms to the volleys from our arquebuses, and with stones to the javelins and arrows [of our Indians]--relying on these weapons alone, as they had the advantage in position. But their courage alone could not equal that of our men; and, seeing that ours were now pressing them hard, and, almost on their hands and knees, steadily gaining possession of their last height, the Sangleys, having little strength to defend it, turned their backs and began to flee. Our men kept up the pursuit of the enemy for more than a legua, until they drove out the fugitives from their hiding-places, and many of the latter flung themselves over the cliffs in those mountains--where the enemy, although at the outset he had been well defended, was on this occasion thoroughly defeated.

Those [of the Spaniards] who were killed in this combat and assault were about twenty; and as the victory had been so glorious, not only by the strength of the enemy but by the valor of our soldiers, all the bells were rung in Manila, and on the following day, at the governor's request, solemn mass was said in all the churches, and the most holy sacrament was exposed, in thanksgiving for so fortunate a success.

In the enemy's camps were found large quantities of supplies and arms; and on the ground were many books which they had taken from the religious houses that they burned; from these they made breastplates and other defensive armor. In the cemetery of Antipolo, which was the quarters of their leaders, were found several of their proclamations, in Chinese characters; these were fastened to the trees, to serve for the proper government of their forces. There were twenty dead horses who had fallen into the ravines, with their saddles broken; and three Spaniards were found whose heads had been cut off. These were part of those who had flung themselves from the precipices; among them was a lay religious of the Augustinians, who had accompanied the soldiers on that expedition. These bodies, although they were putrid, were so tightly bound that the cords had cut into the flesh, all indicating the cruelty of the Sangleys. Although this moved our men to deserved compassion and just indignation, they felt much more keenly the discovery of many fragments of holy images that lay on the ground. In especial, there was found a carved figure of the holy Christ, three palmos in height, among the embers and ashes of a house which the Sangleys had undertaken to burn; the fire had been content to blacken the image a little, in order that it might testify to the miracle--since all regarded it as such, that the image should remain unhurt in the midst of so hot a fire. The soldier who found the image presented it to the governor, who at sight of it was deeply moved, as were the army also when it was raised on high, [made] by him who had abased it more glorious than before; and all entertained hopes that the army which should fight under such a banner would annihilate the enemy by a signal victory.

Injuries which the enemy committed during their flight

It is characteristic of cowards to affect courage when they meet no opposition or do not fear resistance; the enemy did not encounter this in the ranch of Antipolo, whither he went when he emerged from the mountains and hollows in which he had taken refuge from our attacks and the slaughter which he could not make among our troops. For the latter were marching accompanied by the governor, who was desirous of catching the enemy in the flat country that he might offer them battle there, when they would not be able to avail themselves of the ruggedness of the mountains or the depth of the ravines; the armies faced each other, now ready to come to blows, and the enemy were almost surrounded by our troops on all sides. Although without realizing how little they could depend upon their hands, they trusted to their feet; they now placed their main defense in flight, burning the village and church of Baras--valiant for only such acts of cowardice. Our men kept at the heels of the enemy, although it was one of the greatest hardships of this war to have to march so long through very rough roads amid the inclemencies of heat and rain. The insurgents pursued the route toward the village of Tamar, whither also our army proceeded, in order to compel them to give battle, or else to harass and disturb them by never allowing them opportunity to have any rest. Our men reached the flat top of a hill, and halted on the summit, without having any knowledge of the enemy--who were so near that even their voices could soon be heard. When our men perceived the enemy, and saw how few they were (for at that time they did not number two thousand), they began to surround the Sangleys in order to attack them; and the battle began with such fury that the enemy, in desperation, came close to the mouths of the Spanish arquebuses. Our men defended themselves valiantly, at little cost to themselves but with much loss to the enemy; since, although the battle began with great risk [to us] on account of their multitude, our weapons were well plied on both sides [of them]. When the enemy had attacked our position and would have gained the advantage, Don Rodrigo de Guillestegui arrived, whom the governor had sent with a company of horsemen and five hundred Indians, sounding the alarm to them through the rearguard. At the sound of the drums, and when the enemy saw themselves attacked on both sides, and knew that the rest of our army (which had been absent) was there, they already used their weapons with less spirit; and, their hopes of gaining the victory being dashed, they began to retreat, so as not to give it to our men--but with much loss of their own--and as they were in a place where the cavalry could range freely. The damage that they received was much greater [than what they inflicted], and was sufficient to enable those of their number who had more prudence to urge more strenuously, from that time on, negotiations for peace--of which they had begun to talk a few days before, but with little, if any, effect.

Garrisons are placed in the churches, and peace is discussed

When the governor saw the destruction that the enemy had wrought in the churches, and that he could not check it because the army that was fleeing always had the start of the other, he determined to put the churches in a condition of defense, and accordingly assigned to each one a number of soldiers who should confront the Sangleys--so that, since the people of the villages could not deliver themselves from the enemy's fury, the temples and the dwellings of the religious, which were most important, might be saved. The governor also sent them word, threatening that he would put all the Sangleys that were left in the country to the sword, if they did any more damage to the villages or the churches, since it was a token of cowardice to wreak vengeance on him who was not to blame, or who made no resistance. They replied that they did no harm where they were not harmed, and that they would leave the villages in peace if the roads were left free to themselves by which they were intending to pass to Los Limbones, in order to build champans there to make ready for [their return to] China. This reply was less haughty than the tone of their earlier bravado. From that time they did not burn any church, although they burned the village of Santa Maria and that of Siniloan, with a visita of Pangil, because the Indians had been stationed there and many of the Sangleys slain. After this, they continued their march to Cainta, and the governor in pursuit of them to the post of Mahayhay--a place through which the enemy must necessarily pass if they would go to Los Limbones--in order to fight there with the enemy the battle which was impossible in the mountains which the enemy had selected for their encampment. Many from the enemy's camp came every day to ours asking for mercy, alleging [that they had been coerced by] violent measures on the part of their leaders in the revolt. They readily found mercy, and with this and kind treatment they were sent back to Manila. The opinions of the rest were as vacillating as their courage, many of them lacking confidence in the governor. Thinking that they did not deserve pardon for their offences, they preferred to persist in these obstinately, rather than to yield to the governor's mercy and surrender; and although there were embassies from one side to the other, this intercourse was carried on with little confidence on either side. On ours, negotiations for peace were carried on by a father of the Society of Jesus, [75] who was a minister to the Sangleys, and General Geronimo Enrriquez, their alcalde-mayor of the Parian, for whom they had the utmost affection; on their side, by some of their leaders, with the mandarin--although not with so much privilege, [76] on account of having been created for their purpose--the lieutenant-commander of the Sangley forces. He was a boastful and audacious man, who resisted the negotiations for peace, and had with his own hand killed several men because he was suspicious of their being concerned therein. But the father of the Society, anxious that peace should be secured, in order that the shedding of so much blood might be stopped--especially for the sake of the many Sangleys who were there more because they trusted others than to carry out their own purpose--laying aside any consideration of his own life, went many times, at the evident risk of death, to confer with the mandarin and the leaders, assuring them, on the part of the governor, of pardon and kind treatment to those who laid down their arms and surrendered themselves to him. He answered their complaints, the chief of these being that the governor had commanded that their comrades who were scattered through the provinces should be slain, when they had committed no offence. The answer was that the very people in their own camp who had been caught by our men had revealed that those others were accomplices in their guilt, and cognizant of the revolt; for they had confessed that it was general throughout the provinces. He said that there was therefore no wisdom in leaving some of the Sangleys free while we were fighting others in the field, since the former would take up arms against us at the first opportunity; and finally that they should avail themselves of the present opportunity, as being invited to make peace, and should not constrain the governor to an extreme demonstration of his anger, as that would result in the entire destruction of them all--as they themselves could see by the few who had been killed on our side, and the thousands that had fallen on theirs. Persuaded by these arguments, they undertook to hold another council and give an answer on the following day.

Peace is concluded, and both armies return to Manila

After thorough reflection, while those of our camp were waiting for the enemy to submit and give up their arms, the latter saw that the conditions demanded for making peace did not depend on him whose strength had been broken, but on him who was able to boast of his advantage and superiority; and how, if the negotiations for peace arose more from the needs of the case and from our strength than from mercy and compassion, the governor would have closed, as it were, the gates of mercy with the determination to destroy them, if he had not checked his anger, and given to the religious in whose hands was this affair time for endeavoring to convert them to a more prudent decision. Finally, they agreed that all should surrender themselves and give up their weapons. A place was appointed at a little distance from our camp, between which and theirs was a river; at its crossing stood our men in two ranks, before whom the Sangleys passed, laying down the weapons that they carried. As soon as all of them, some eight thousand in number, had reached their station, arrangements were made for their return to Manila, the governor charging the master-of-camp to set out with the two armies. This was done, and they marched until they arrived in the parade-ground at Bagumbayan, opposite the city, on the evening of Friday, March. 15. The governor arrived that same evening, and the two armies encamped there for the night. At dawn of the following day, the drums sounded for the march, which was conducted in this order. In the vanguard went Captain Juan Fiallo with the cavalry, to the sound of trumpets; next some companies of Pampango infantry, those of the Cagayan Indians, the Zambal archers, and the Indians who carried javelins and shields in the battalion. Next came all the Sangley forces, and in the rearguard the Spanish infantry, with the master-of-camp. The halberdiers of the governor followed, and in their midst was one on horseback, who carried as a standard the image of the blessed Christ from Antipolo, mounted on a staff. Last of all came the governor, accompanied by his suite, and by many volunteer horsemen who had gone to the war. In this order they proceeded along the causeway to the bridge over the river, and across it to Tondo; and there our troops left the Sangleys inside a stockade which they had built as a precaution, with soldiers guarding them on all sides. The governor went thence to his palace by water, and the master-of-camp marched with his soldiers to the city. The people received them with great joy at seeing the war ended, as it had caused them so much anxiety and lasted so long a time--for it began on November 20, 1639, and came to an end on March 15, 1640.

The slain in both armies; the enemy's weapons and mode of warfare; and the damage committed by them.

Those who make the most careful estimate of the deaths on both sides state that the number of Spaniards who died in the war, from its beginning to its end, were about forty or forty-five, and of Indians three hundred; and it was always the main care of the governor to watch over his men. On the side of the enemy, they make the number of deaths approximate twenty-two thousand to twenty-four thousand--including therein those who died in the provinces. [77] Thus is made very evident, by the unequal and disproportionate number [of deaths] on both sides, the special protection of our Lord over our army--a fact acknowledged even by the very infidels.