Chapter XV: Wars and conquests in the lake of Malanao (6)

After crossing the river, the general marched his troop in regular files until he came near the court [patio] of the church, which was of stone, and very suitable for defensive and even offensive warfare. Here he halted; but quickly observing how feeble was its defense, he entered the court, halted in front of the main entrance of the church, and fired his artillery against it. But as his guns were small, and the gates very strong, he could accomplish no more than to splinter off a piece, making a hole through which one could hardly thrust a hand. Meanwhile, there were volleys on both sides from the muskets and arquebuses. The alcalde remained in the highest part of the convent; a Pampango fell dead near him, and when he saw the latter's blood, his own immediately ran cold. When he was told that the powder would soon give out--which was quite true, for he had not brought for this occasion all that had been sent from Manila--he left his post, under pretext of going to consult two religious of that convent (who were in retreat in the farthest cell, praying to God for our success), and never returned to see what was going on; but he discussed with the religious the desirability of displaying a flag of truce, in order to negotiate [with the enemy] for saving our lives.

Among those in the convent were the principal men of all Pampanga, many of them veteran soldiers of long experience in Terrenate. They told the alcalde that our forces were superior in number to those of the enemy; that on various occasions they had shown themselves equal to the foe, and did not acknowledge him as their superior on land; and that when their ammunition and weapons were exhausted they would hurl themselves against him tooth and nail, and die like good soldiers, fighting in the service of God and the king. They declared that they would not consider a flag of peace, which would serve to encourage the enemy and deliver them all into his hands.

The religious (who could have prevented what was done) supported the opinion of the alcalde, and even tried to use their authority as ministers to compel the Pampangos to agree with it; and, in spite of the objections made by the Indians, they finally hung out a peace-flag from one of the windows. The Dutch general was greatly delighted, and promised favorable terms. One of the religious, accompanied by the Spanish adjutant who was there, descended, and conversed for a long time with the general. While this parley was going on, the Dutchmen did not cease to try the other doors and windows of the convent, in order to effect an entrance; nor did the Pampangos discontinue their resistance, wounding and killing many of the enemy. The general, irritated at this, and noticing that one of his men had scaled the convent wall by means of a workmen's scaffolding, and entering, had rung the bells as a signal of victory, said that this was no time for treating of peace; and seizing in the crowd the negotiators as prisoners, he commanded a renewal of hostilities, and ordered his men to enter the church and convent on all sides. The bravest and most prominent Pampangos defended themselves gallantly, refusing to hear any talk of surrender to a heretical prince, although the Dutch promised to spare their lives if they would do so. But as their weapons were inferior [to the enemy's] and their powder had been exhausted, the Pampangos were finally defeated; nearly two hundred were barbarously put to death, and forty others together with the alcalde and the other religious [70] who was in the convent, were taken prisoners.

To make matters worse for us and fortunate for the heretics, there was not lacking an informer, who disclosed to the enemy the silver from the Sangley ship, which had been hidden in a deep hole; the Dutch carried it away, to the amount of twenty thousand pesos. They burned the convent, and the woodwork of the church, but the fire did not extend to the altar; and they retreated to their lanchas on the same day, without sacking the village.

At the same time, another but smaller body of their troops attacked the village of Samal; but the Pampangos who were in garrison there, under command of Sargento-mayor Don Alexo Aguas, went out against them and compelled them to retreat, as those in Abucay would have done if the religious and the alcalde had allowed them to fight.

When the news of this affair reached Manila, it aroused unspeakable resentment; and prompt measures were taken to avenge it. Large reënforcements of men and ammunition were despatched under General Juan de Chavez, a soldier of the courage and ability which the occasion demanded.

The Order of St. Augustine--which maintains all the religious ministries of Pampanga except the two at Abucay and Samal, which, however, belong to the actual ministers of the province--was charged to send thither other religious, of unexceptionable character. As such, went the father master Fray Alonso de Caravajal (who was formerly provincial), and the present prior of the Manila convent, the father preacher Fray Diego de Tamayo. These with their discretion and zeal, and the long experience and general popularity which they had in that province, undertook to give it consolation. As a result, in less than four days six hundred soldiers had been recruited to oppose the enemy if they should return to make another attack--which, in fact, was made on Thursday, July 11. The enemy placed in the field two hundred and fifty men, in command of the fiscal, who in rank is third in the armada, to pillage the village of Abucay, and kill the cattle and swine which are usually kept there.

General Juan de Chavez, who was fortified in Samal, was informed of the attack, and despatched ahead a troop under Captain Francisco Gomez Pulido, while he followed with the remainder of his men. They found the enemy in the village, pillaging the houses and killing the cattle. Our General opened fire, and made the enemy retreat toward the church; Captain Francisco Gomez Pulido, with the force under his command, went across the fields by another road, and the heretics were so taken by surprise that they turned their backs and fled to their lanchas. At the same time Adjutant Francisco Palmares arrived on the beach with another detachment of troops from another post, and attacked the enemy, compelling them to return to their boats through water that reached their mouths; they left fourteen dead and two prisoners on shore. The number of killed and wounded by the time they reached their vessels is unknown, but it was doubtless great.

This good fortune, and the grants and favors conferred by the governor, in the name of his Majesty, on the widows and orphans of the Pampango chiefs, who had lost their lives, have somewhat mitigated the sorrow and suffering caused by the late disaster. In order that pious feeling should find an opportunity for expression, solemn funeral rites were celebrated in the royal chapel, by his Lordship's orders, for the dead Pampangos, at which all the Spanish and Pampango troops were present, under command of their master-of-camp, Don Sebastian de Guzman. The Order of St. Augustine, as the [religious] mother of that people, performed the same rites in the convent at Manila, and in all of the others throughout their province.

Information and statements made by the prisoners of the enemy's fleet

Through the said two Dutch prisoners was obtained all information that we desired of the enemy's fleet. These men declared that they had sailed from Jacatra in Batabia, early in March, having been despatched by Cornelio Fandelin, [71] governor of that place, under command of General Martin Gercen [Gertzen?] a Frisian by birth; and that the fleet consisted of thirteen vessels, one of which was lost on the voyage. The voyage lasted three months, and they halted only at Pulolaor for provisions. As for the size of the ships, the flagship is a vessel of seven hundred toneladas; the ships of the admiral, fiscal, and sub-fiscal, of eight hundred; and the others from three hundred to four hundred; and the pataches from sixty to one hundred toneladas. The flagship carries forty-eight guns: eighteen of these are of bronze, carrying balls of eighteen, twenty-four, and thirty-six libras; the others are of iron, with balls of nine to fifteen libras. The almiranta, and the ships of the fiscal and sub-fiscal carried forty, thirty-eight, and thirty-six guns respectively, some of bronze, with balls of twenty-four libras or less. The four other ships carried thirty-libra cannon. The guns on the pataches, some of bronze, carried balls of eighteen to twenty libras. The flagship was also supplied with many devices for using fire, with a German inventor who manufactures them, so that on occasion these could be placed in some one of their smaller vessels, in order to burn our fleet. The flagship left Batabia with two hundred and twenty men, all white, of various European nations, unmixed with men from any of the peoples in these regions; the almiranta and the fiscal's ship carried each two hundred and ten, and the sub-fiscal's two hundred; the other vessels seventy or eighty each. The flagship had already lost from its quota seventy men, and the other vessels proportionately, many having been killed in the fight at Cabite and in other engagements; moreover, there is a disease, known as Verber [i.e., beri-beri], which is now prevalent throughout the fleet, by which most of the men have been attacked. The orders carried by the Dutch ships are, to capture the vessels coming from Nueva España and prevent the voyage of those that must go to that kingdom for aid. They were also to ascertain, at the same time, the condition in which these fortified posts are, so that they can prepare for a larger fleet to follow in the succeeding year. It was said that he who will come in that fleet as commander is Antonio Can [i.e., Caan], former governor of Malayo, who had come last year from Olanda, and now is in Jacatra as second in command at that place. The season here will be favorable to them, as the monsoon will give them time [enough], and their provisions will hold out; and within a month four of the said ships will set out for the kingdom of Japon, with merchandise which they are carrying, and will go with the proceeds to the kingdom of Siam. Such is the information which the prisoners have thus far given us regarding the Dutch armada; and it is confirmed from other sources. [72]

Our armada at present is composed of three large galleons and one of medium size, two pataches, and two galleys, with other oared vessels of less size. All hands are at work on it, without any cessation--with eager desires and no less assured hopes, under God's favor, whose cause this is, of gaining success and good fortune against the heretical and rebel squadron.

Nor can my unskilful pen rightly deny the glory of such a victory, as of all the rest that has been thus far accomplished and is mentioned above, to the prime mover of all the influences and actions of this government--the sargento-mayor and governor of this garrison, Manuel Estacio Venegas, one of the old and prominent citizens of this city, and a brave son of the royal army at Granada. He was chosen by Don Diego Faxardo for these and greater undertakings on account of his honorable, successful, and extraordinary services of thirty-four years in this region in the royal armadas of galleons and galleys, on the Northern Sea and in these islands. In military service, he was sargento, alférez, and captain of infantry; and in political affairs he served as regidor of this city, and as chancellor and registrar of the royal Audiencia--in which latter post his Lordship found him, filling it with approval and distinction, as is well known to all this kingdom. The victories and successes described in these relations are due to his unwearied personal efforts in sending out troops and supplies, and to his thorough understanding and excellent arrangements of all matters. His courage and dexterity in difficulties and hindrances, his subordination and military obedience, and execution of orders given by his superiors, [are all worthy of praise]; for ever since his Lordship placed in his charge the office of sargento-mayor, there have been few nights which he has not passed in the guardroom, or making the round of the city and its walls.

It fell to his lot to destroy such parts of the fortifications as appeared inadequate for the defense of this post and he strengthened the walls with new ones which, it has been said, are without doubt impregnable. I know not which to admire most, the strength of the fortification, or the rapidity with which the work was performed, without any burden or injury [to the people].

The thorough knowledge which he had of all his officers was doubtless the reason for the wise and fortunate selection that he made in naming to his Lordship, the year before, the leaders who were best qualified for positions of authority in the armadas--through which he obtained the so glorious results which we have described, providing the fleets with all that was necessary to gain success. The rapidity with which he carried on the work was sufficient to make ready [for battle] anew the two galleons "Encarnacion" and "Rosario" in one single week, in order that they might convoy the galleon "San Diego;" they gained the third victory, which was the complement of the others that were gained the year before.

All this being known to his Lordship, as soon as the news came this year of the enemy's armada he gave the sargento-mayor full and adequate commission to arrange and order everything as should appear best to him, in order not to delay sending aid, as occasion might demand, not only at the storehouses but in the provinces--to which he sent supplies with the promptness which the case required. Thus the islands have been freed, on land and sea, from the attacks of the enemy, and the vessels which have come to us from other lands have made port in safety--thoroughly frustrating the designs of the heretics. This was especially the case in the attack on Abucay, where the sargento-mayor sent very opportune aid of men and ammunition--so greatly to the satisfaction of the alcalde-mayor, Diego Antonio, that he wrote to him that all was done very promptly, and he was expecting to achieve some great exploit. If the alcalde had carried out this promise, as he could have done, or at least had allowed the brave Pampangos to fight, neither would the above-related defeat have occurred, nor would the enemy have obtained any results from their attack.

However, by promptly despatching General Juan de Chaves, his vigilance and skill were able to harass the heretics--much to their own cost, as it was not lack of foresight, but the little military exercise in the commander of that province, which occasioned that defeat. Finally, through the sargento-mayor's vigilance and care, and the valor of the generals and chiefs, much has been, and we hope will be, accomplished in these islands for the success of our arms and the reputation of this military post--which is so destitute of aid, as being remote from his Majesty, whom may God protect.

Printed with permission, at Manila, in the printing-house of the Society of Jesus, in the year 1647.

DECREE REGARDING MISSIONARIES

The King. To Don Diego Fajardo, knight of the Order of Santiago, member of my Council of War, and my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands: In a clause of the letter which you wrote to me on the fifteenth of August in the past year of six hundred and forty-five, you say that the bishop-elect of Caceres is bringing suit against the religious of St. Francis in regard to some mission stations which those religious have held for the past thirty years and more; that he has asked you to aid him in taking possession of them; and that you have delayed doing so until you could report to me that in those islands the Indian natives are much better instructed by the religious than by the secular priests--considering that the latter are born in the islands, and are but few in number; and that many of them are by their habit of life not fitted to set an example for others, or [to carry out] what is decreed for the other parts of the Yndias. In regard to the missions, there are in those islands especial reasons why I should order this matter to be again considered, on account of not having secular priests of more approved life for the new conversions and doctrines; for since the natives of those islands have been instructed from the beginning by religious, they are more obedient to these. This matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, together with the opinion thereon of my fiscal of the Council, I have deemed it best to tell you that, in regard to the point of furnishing aid [to the bishop], it is your duty to consider what course you ought to pursue conformably to [the requirements of] justice, and whether it would be just to grant him aid according to law. You shall act accordingly in this, and in other matters that may arise in which it may be expedient to grant aid. In what concerns those missions which the religious may hold, you shall observe what has been ordained by the decrees and orders that have been issued on account of this, in all cases giving careful attention to [the requirements] of my royal patronage, without making any change in what has been commanded and decided in the matter. Dated at Madrid, on the seventeenth of September in the year one thousand six hundred and forty-seven.

I the King

By command of the king our sovereign: Juan Bauptista Saenz Navarrete Signed by the members of the Council.

EARLY FRANCISCAN MISSIONS

Entrance of the seraphic order of our father St. Francis into
the Philipinas Islands

His sacred Majesty our king and sovereign Philipo Second was pleased, through his most Christian and Catholic zeal, to establish this kingdom of Philipinas and plant herein the evangelical doctrine by means of the religious of our seraphic father St. Francis. For this purpose his Majesty sent father Fray Pedro de Alfaro with seventeen religious, sons of the province of San Joseph, of the discalced religious. Thirteen of them were priests, two were choristers and two lay-brothers. Six religious died on the voyage, but they were joined by six more in México, and they entered Manila August 2, 1577. They were lodged in a bamboo house, where the marshal Gabriel de Ribera built a church of planks. Father Fray Pedro de Alfaro began his ministry immediately by assigning his associates to all the provinces of this kingdom; and they, inducing the Indians to come from the rugged mountains and reducing them to settlements, baptized them and instructed them in the mysteries of our holy faith, and erected churches and laid out villages. At present the province has charge of fifty-two villages in these islands, as follows.

Province of Tagalos

1. The convent of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria of Dilao, which the dean, Don Francisco de Arellano, founded at his own cost, with a church and house of stone. It is located outside the walls of the city of Manila. It has 300 tributes, which makes a total of 1,200 persons of all ages. Japanese Christians are ministered to in that convent, and have their own Japanese minister who has charge of them. Four religious live in that convent constantly.

2. Three quarters of a legua up the river from Manila is the convent of Nuestra Señora de Loreto of San Páloc [i.e., Sampaloc], with a stone church and house. It was founded at his own cost by Master-of-camp Pedro de Gómez. It has a visita located one-half legua distant from it. Two hundred tributes are administered there, who amount in all to 800 persons of all ages. One father lives there.

3. One legua up stream from that convent is the convent of Santa Ana of Sapa, with a stone church and house, which was built by Admiral Juan Pardo de Losada at his own cost. It has 200 tributes, or 800 souls of all ages, and one religious lives there.

4. In the jurisdiction of Bulacán, the convent of San Diego of Polo, with a stone church and house. It has 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons of all ages. Some Christian Sangley farmers are ministered to there, and two religious live in that convent all the time.

5. One legua farther on is the convent of San Francisco of Micauayan, which has a visita in the mountains. It has 130 tributes or 600 persons of all ages, and one religious lives there.

6. Two leguas farther on is the convent of San Martín of Bocaui, with a stone church and a wooden house. It has two visitas, and has 150 tributes or 700 persons. One religious lives there.

7. At the entrance of the lake of Bay is located the convent of Santa Ursula of Binangonan, which has 80 tributes or 150 persons. One religious lives there, and its church and house are of stone, which were built from various alms.

8. Three leguas farther on is the convent of San Gerónimo of Moron. It has 122 tributes, or 400 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and it has one religious.

9. One legua farther on is the convent of San Ildefonso of Tanay, with 100 tributes, or 340 persons. Its church and house are bamboo, and one religious lives there.

10. One-half legua farther on is the convent of Santa María Magdalena of Pililla, which has 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons. Its church and house are built of planks, and one religious lives there.

11. In the district of the lake is located the convent of San Antonio de Pila, with 200 tributes, or about 800 persons. Its church is of stone, and its house of wood. It has two religious, and one lay-religious who acts as a nurse; for that is the place where the sick religious of the district are treated.

12. Two leguas thence by water is the convent of Santa Cruz, with 150 tributes, or 600 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and one religious lives there.

13. One legua thence by water is the convent of our father San Francisco of Luonbang. It has 500 tributes, or 2,000 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and it has three visitas. Two religious live there all the time.

14. One and one-half leguas thence is the convent of Sanctiago of Payte, with three visitas. It has 448 tributes, or 1,600 persons. The church and house which are being built are of stone. Two religious live there.

15. One legua thence by sea is the convent of La Natividad of Pangil, with 460 tributes, or 1,800 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and two religious live there.

16. One legua thence by sea is the convent of San Pedro of Siniloan, with 130 tributes, or 450 persons. Its church and house are of bamboo, and one religious lives there.

17. One and one-half leguas thence is the convent of Santa María of Mabitac, with 200 tributes, or 800 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and one religious lives there.

18. Two leguas thence is the convent of Santa María of Cabooan, with 120 tributes; or 450 persons. One religious lives there.

19. Ascending to the mountains through the district of Pila, is found the convent of San Bartolomé of Nacarlán, with 700 tributes, or 2,800 persons. The convent and house are of stone, and two religious live there.

20. One legua thence is the convent of San Juan Bautista of Lillo, with 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and it has two religious.

21. Two leguas thence is the convent of San Gregorio of Mahayhay, with 1,000 tributes, or 4,000 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and two religious and a few convalescents live there.

22. Four leguas up in the mountains is the convent of San Salvador of Cavinte, with 120 tributes, or 450 persons. Its church and house are of planks, and two religious live there.

23. Three leguas east is the convent of San Luis of Luchán, with 400 tributes, or 1,600 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and it has two religious.

24. Four leguas thence is the convent of San Miguel of Tayabas, with 500 tributes, or 2,000 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and two religious live there.

25. One legua thence is the convent of Santa Clara of Sadyaya, with 100 tributes, or 380 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and it has one religious.

26. Along the seacoast is the convent of Santa Buenabéntura of Mahubán, with 200 tributes, or 800 persons. Its church and house are built of bamboo, because the former ones were burned by the Dutch enemy. It has two religious.

27. Ten leguas thence by sea is the convent of San Marcos of Binangonan, with 120 tributes, or 400 persons. It has one visita, at a distance of 8 leguas by the sea and ten by land. It has one religious.

28. Thirty leguas by sea is the convent of San Luis of Baler, with 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons. Its church and house are of wood, and two religious live there.

29. Twenty-four leguas by sea is the convent of Casiguran, of San Antonio, with 320 tributes, or 1,200 persons. Its church and house are of bamboo, and one religious lives there; for his associate lives at a visita called Palanan, which has 250 tributes, or 700 persons.

30. On the other side of Maubán, toward the province of Camarines, and six leguas by sea, is the convent of Antimonan, with 250 tributes, or 1,000 persons. Its church and house are of bamboo, for the former ones were twice burned by the Dutch enemy. One religious lives there. [The following seems to have been added later:] Now it is all stone, and the best in the province.

31. Eight leguas by sea is the convent of San Diego of Gumaca, with 200 tributes, or 800 persons. Its church and house are of bamboo as the former ones were burned by the Dutch enemy. It has one religious.

32. Ten leguas by sea is the convent of Santa Lucía of Capalongan, with 100 tributes or 400 persons. Its church and house are of bamboo, as the former ones were burned by the Dutch. One religious lives there.

33. Twelve leguas thence is the convent of La Purificación, of Paracali, with 200 tributes, or 800 persons. Its church and house are of bamboo, as the former ones were burned by the Dutch enemy.

34. The chief convent of Manila, of Nuestra Señora de los Angeles, has twenty-five religious continually--ten of whom are priests, and the others choristers and lay-brothers--for the proper administration of the convent. They are supported by alms from the city, except as regards the vestments, medicine, fowls, clothing for the sick, wine for the mass, and oil for the lamps, which is the alms given by his Majesty (may God preserve him).

35. The convent of San Diego of Cavite (a communal convent) has four religious, and one nurse who attends through charity to the sailors and natives who work at shipbuilding. It has no ministry, and is supported by alms.

Province of Camarines

1. In the city of [Nueva] Cáçeres is the convent of Nuestro Padre San Francisco, which is communal and administers the part of the city called Naga. It has 150 tributes, or 600 persons. It also administers the village of Canaman and that of Milanix. The village of Canaman has 400 tributes, or 1,500 Christians. One religious lives there who is subject to Naga. The village of Milanix is two leguas thence, and has 303 tributes, or 1,200 persons. There are generally four priests and two religious lay-brothers for the hospital in the convent of Naga.

2. The convent of Indar, which is six leguas by sea from Paracali, has 400 tributes or 1,800 persons. It has a visita up stream. Its church and house are of plank, and two religious live there.

3. Two leguas [thence] by land is the convent of San Juan Bautista of Dait, which, together with a visita that it possesses, has 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons. It has a church and house of plank, and one religious lives there.

4. Eight leguas [thence] by sea is the convent of Santiago of Ligmanan, with 200 tributes, or 800 persons. It has a stone church and house, and one religious lives there.

5. Four leguas [thence] by sea and land is the convent of Nuestra Señora of Quipayo, which, with three visitas, has 600 tributes, or 2,400 persons. Its church and house are built of brick, and it is administered by two religious.

6. On the other side of [Nueva] Cáçeres (or Naga), toward the main part of the province and three leguas up the river, is the convent of Minalana, with 360 tributes, or 1,300 persons. Its church and house are of plank, and it is administered by one religious.

7. Six leguas [thence] is the convent of Santa María Magdalena of Bula, which, with one visita, has 250 tributes, or 900 persons. Its church and house are of plank, and it is administered by one religious.

8. Three leguas [thence] is the convent of Santa Cruz of Nabua, with 600 tributes, besides some Negrillos who come down from the mountains. The tributes of the mission alone amount to more than 2,400 persons. The church and house are of wood, and it is administered by two religious.

9. One legua [thence] is the convent of San Antonio of Iraga, with 460 tributes, or 1,600 persons. Its church and house are of wood, and it is administered by one religious.

10. Three leguas [thence] is the convent of Nuestro Padre San Francisco of Buy, with 200 tributes, or 800 persons. Its church and house are of wood, and it is administered by one religious.

11. Six leguas [thence] is the convent of Santiago of Libón, with 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons. Its church and house are of brick, and it is administered by one religious.

12. One legua [thence] is the convent of San Pedro of Polangui, with 300 tributes, or 1,400 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and it is administered by one religious.

13. One legua [thence] is the convent of San Miguel of Oasque, with one visita. It has 600 tributes, or 2,500 persons. Its church and house are of stone, and it is administered by one religious.

14. Four leguas [thence] is the convent of San Juan Bautista of Camarines, with its visita called Cagsaua. It has 700 tributes, or 3,000 persons. Its church and house are of stone. It is administered by religious who are priests, and one lay-religious who acts as a nurse for the infirmary which is in the said convent.

15. One legua [thence] is the convent of San Gregorio of Albay, with 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons, and the Spaniards who usually are in the said village are also administered. It has a church and a fortified house of stone, beside a bit of a wall and a tower for the defense of the province--as the said village is close to the sea, and a port for the champans of his Majesty which go to collect the bandalas and tributes. Last year the Dutch enemy destroyed said church and house, although two religious, having patched up a little dwelling with bamboos, are living there.

16. Eight leguas [thence] by sea is the convent of San Juan Evangelista of Tanaco, with 340 tributes, or 1,350 persons. It has a visita one and one-half leguas away. The church and house are of bamboo, as the former buildings were burned by the enemies--Dutch, Camucón, and Mindanao. A small fort or fortified house is being built to defend it from the said enemy. One religious lives there.

17. One legua [thence] by land is the convent of Santa Ana of Malinas, which, with a visita, has 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons. The church and house are of wood, and it is administered by one religious.

18. Eight leguas [thence] by sea is the convent of La Anunciación, of Bacon, with its visita called Solsogón. It has 400 tributes, or 1,600 persons. The churches and houses of both villages are bamboo, because they are very frequently burned by the Camucón and Mindanao enemy. One religious lives there, and he also ministers to the Spaniards who frequently go to the port of Solsogón in his Majesty's champans.

19. Three leguas [thence] by sea is the convent of La Visitación of Casiguran, with one visita. It has 430 tributes, or 1,560 persons. Its church and house are of wood, and one religious lives there.

20. Eight leguas over very rough mountains, but twelve leguas [thence] by sea, is the convent of Bolosan, which, with three visitas, has 400 tributes, or 1,500 persons. The church and house are of bamboo, and one religious lives there.

21. Thirty leguas [thence] by sea is the convent of Quipia, and Donsol its visita, with 300 tributes, or 1,200 persons. The church and house are of bamboo, and one religious lives there.

II

Hospitals

The province, considering the great service which is performed for our Lord in the cure of the sick, and that its evangelical ministers ought to attend to the spiritual necessities of all and to the corporal needs of the poor, began to establish some hospitals in this new [field of the] conversion, entrusting so apostolic a ministry to a lay-brother of proved virtue called Fray Juan Clemente. That religious, with singular charity, collected some alms among the Spaniards, and began to treat the poor Spaniards in a wretched nipa house. Since the order of our father St. Francis may not hold property and have the management of money, therefore that hospital, like the others founded by the province, was placed under the royal protection. God took to himself a Spaniard who had one of the best cattle-ranches in this kingdom. That Spaniard made confession and deposited his will with father Fray Agustín de Tordesillas, one of the first founders of this province. Father Fray Agustín counseled that Spaniard to leave his ranch to the royal hospital of the Spaniards, since he had no children and the hospital was so poor. The Spaniard did so, so that the poor had thereby the milk necessary for their sicknesses, for milk is, as a general rule, the delicacy that is prescribed to the sick in this kingdom.

This province founded another hospital, in the port of Cavite, for the relief and cure of the seamen in that port and of the natives who live there. For its support and comfort they founded another ranch, likewise of the larger cattle, the land on which that ranch was established being given by some Spaniards and some natives, by the advice and efforts of the religious.

The same Fray Juan Clemente founded another hospital outside the walls of the city of Manila, which is called "the hospital of the natives;" for there the Indian natives who go thither because they have not the wherewithal to cure themselves are treated--and they are many. The same religious founded another ranch for its support, commencing it with some calves which he begged as an alms. In the same manner was founded also the hospital of Los Baños, with two other ranches. In the city of [Nueva] Cáçeres, the religious have founded another hospital, with another large ranch.

Within the city of Manila, the brotherhood of the Santa Misericordia built another hospital, where poor negro slaves are treated, through their alms. Most of the negroes would doubtless die miserably if the Santa Misericordia did not piously aid them in so great need. The Misericordia entrusted their hospital to our religious, who administered it most willingly, as it was for poor creatures so orphaned and destitute.

Besides these hospitals, there is the infirmary at the principal convent of Manila, and another infirmary in the village of Pila, in the province of Laguna de Bay of Tagalos. The province of Camarines has two more infirmaries--one in the village of Camarines, and the other (which is the chief one) in the city of [Nueva] Cáçeres, the capital of that province. The religious of the order are treated in those infirmaries, as well as the religious of other orders, secular priests, and Spaniards, and not a few natives who gather there from various villages--the priests being admitted to the same infirmaries of the convents, and the laymen being accommodated in the private houses of the villages.

The service, past and present, rendered to the two Majesties and to their poor vassals by the religious in those hospitals and infirmaries is of no little importance. But since the infernal enemy of the poor does not sleep, he also found a plan to sow his seeds of discord and to entangle everything, as is his wont. When Don Sebastian governed this kingdom, he took the royal hospital away from the order, and commanded it to be administered by layman and by a secular priest. He also took away the hospital of Cavite, and gave it to the religious of San Juan Bautista, [73] whom he brought from México for that purpose. His Majesty (may God preserve him), having been [correctly] informed, has ordered by his royal decree that the royal hospital of Manila be returned to the order. In regard to the hospital of Cavite, the order has not informed his Majesty of anything. Without doubt the loss of the royal hospital of Manila is felt by the order, for it contained as superior and minister one of the father definitors, with another priest as associate (one of those who gave most satisfaction), and the father vicar of the nuns, with an associate. Besides these, there were four priests who were always chosen from among the best of the province. It was necessary that they be of the best, as they were in the sight of all the community. There were also four or six lay religious, chosen for the same reasons from the very best. The head-nurse was there and was chosen by the governor. The steward, then as now, gave the religious what was needful for the cure and comfort of the sick; and the religious gave out what was delivered to them by the stewards, without having the management of any property or money. And as that hospital always had a surgeon and an apothecary (both Spaniards), the religious who served and ministered to them learned medicine by experience, and by means of the books which they read in the Romance [i.e., Castilian] tongue. By that means the other hospitals and infirmaries were furnished with nurses and physicians so competent that the best people of Manila preferred to be treated by them rather than by the Spanish physician. Since the province has lost that hospital, the seminary of its nurses is also lacking; and consequently only three or four of the old nurses have remained, who now take care of the other hospitals. But when they die, the province will sustain the hospitals with difficulty for lack of nurse and school where they can be trained.

[Section iii treats of the conversion of China, and section iv of the empire of Japan. Both have been treated sufficiently in preceding volumes. The former mentions the disputes of the Franciscans and Dominicans with the Jesuits over the Chinese rites. The latter narrates the early beginnings of the Franciscans' missions in Japan (where they had ten convents and seven hospitals), their successes, and subsequent persecutions.]

V

Martyred in various kingdoms

In Tagolanda on the island of Maluco, the Moros of the island, after killing father Fray Sebastián de San Joseph [74] with arrows for the preaching of the faith, beheaded him. His associate Fray Antonio de Santa Ana, [75] a lay-brother, was given to the women of the island because he refused to marry one of the chief Moro women, the daughter of the king of that island. They, dancing to the sound of a tambourine, began to stick sharp knives into all parts of his body; and then they beheaded him, and nailed his head to a pole. It is said that he preached our holy faith to those faithless Moros for many days after his death. Juridical reports of the martyrdom of those two religious were made in Manila, in Therrenate, and Macau, by order of his Holiness.

Father Fray Juan de Plasençia [76] died in Burney, an island of the Mahometans, when on his way to España he stopped at that island. Father Fray Francisco de Santa Maria [77] also died a martyr in the same kingdom, because he had preached to the king in public three or four times and chided him for his false worship of Mahomet. While he was finishing mass in the house assigned to him by the king for his lodging, and giving thanks, a troop of men attacked him and cleft his head in twain; and when he was dead they dragged him along by his girdle, and threw him into the river. He died in the year 1583.

The holy father, Fray Blas de Palomino, [78] a priest, was going to Therrenate in a Portuguese ship. On arriving at the island of Tagalonda, he asked the captain of the ship to put him ashore, and the latter did so. On reaching shore he began to preach to those islanders, but they speared him in sight of the ship. The father vicar of Therrenate got a report of that murder and martrydom from the Portuguese aboard that ship. In their report they said that father Fray Blas de Palomino wore only a habit, and under that a hair-cloth shirt which he wore quite commonly.

Brother Fray Juan de Palma, [79] a lay-brother, was going to España by way of India. The Dutch captured the ship in which that religious was sailing. They shot him with their arquebuses, although they did no harm to any of his companions. It is said that they shot him because he preached to the Dutch heretics; and it is a fact that the Dutch never treat a religious badly unless he begins to preach to them.

Father Fray Gerónimo de San Joseph, [80] priest, embarked in the island Hermosa in a Chinese ship, with another religious, Fray Jacinto, of [the order] of our father, St. Dominic. Those religious intended to go to Japón, but the Chinese who were taking them killed them, and cut off their noses, which they salted. Thus did they carry these to Japón and presented them to the emperor, who ordered them to be given the reward that had been assigned to those who surrender and denounce evangelical ministers.

VI

Foundation of the convent of our mother Santa Clara, of this city of Manila

This city of Manila has a cathedral, and five convents of religious. Notwithstanding that, it was alone and as if an orphan, for it had no convent of religious women. Especially did it sigh for a convent of discalced nuns of our mother St. Clare. All entreated and desired it, but no one had the wherewithal to found it. God inspired the master-of-camp, Pedro de Chaves and his wife, Doña Ana de Vera (who had no children or obligations), to spend their possessions in the founding of that convent. They petitioned his Majesty, who since he was so good a Catholic, immediately conceded it, and sent the religious women, who came at the expense of his royal treasury. Father Fray Joseph de Santa Maria, a venerable and perfectly satisfactory religious, was then in España, having returned to that country from this kingdom. The royal Council summoned him from his convent, where he was quietly remaining and resting after his long and troublesome journey. His Majesty ordered him to conduct these religious, and he received the commission very willingly, in consideration of the great service that he was doing to both Majesties, to this kingdom, and to the order. The said father Fray Joseph de Santa María left España with the following religious: Mother Gerónima de la Asunción, abbess, and as her associates Mother Leonor de San Francisco, Mother Ana de Cristo, Mother María Magdalena de la Cruz, Mother Magdalena de Cristo, Mother María de la Trinidad. On departing they gave the habit to Mother Juana de San Antonio and to Mother Luisa de Jesús who performed their novitiate during the voyage. The above religious were joined in México by Mother Leonor de San Buenaventura and Mother María de los Ángeles. During the second voyage [i.e., from Mexico to Manila] Mother María de la Trinidad died, and thus the other nine religious arrived at Manila. On arriving they were lodged in the convent of San Páloc, owned by this province outside the walls of Manila, of which the patrons are the same master-of-camp, Pedro de Chaves, and his wife, Doña Ana de Vera, as they were its founders. While the women religious were in that convent, the two novices, Juana de San Antonio and Luisa de Jesús, professed. The two patrons, husband and wife, immediately prepared their houses, which were near the palace, and arranged them in the manner of a convent, whither the religious betook themselves. A few days after their arrival, the said master-of-camp, Pedro de Chaves, died, and Doña Ana his wife being widowed, her nephew Don Antonio de Vera, who married Doña Magdalena de Aybar, came from España. Doña Ana favored that gentleman as much as possible, since he was her nephew; she brought about his marriage, and made him a gift of all her property. Doña Ana de Vera died, and, the convent of Santa Clara brought a suit, because of her foundation, against the aforesaid nephew and niece, who remained as its patrons, and their heirs. The suit was concluded, and the nuns were left in possession of the houses of their founders, which had already been made into a convent, for which they were not compelled to pay anything. The said Don Antonio de Vera and his heirs were left in possession of a good ranch which the first founders and patrons had given to the convent for its support, provided that they abandoned and renounced all their right of patronage over the said convent. Therefore the convent was left to the mercy of God, without patron or property. In this way there came an end to the mountains of gold that its first patrons promised to his Majesty for its foundation. The nuns began immediately to receive crowds of girls, so that the dove-cot was filled in a short time; and there are now fifty-six nuns. They do not receive fixed dowries. The convent contains the daughters of the noblest and richest men of Manila; but there are so many of them that the majority, although noble, entered poor. From the money inherited by the convent from some religious women whose fathers had property a church has been built and part of the convent--which is a tolerably good building. But it was so badly damaged by the late earthquake that it threatened to fall, so that the nuns fear, and so do we all, especially the province which has it in charge; but we cannot help it. Thus the convent now has fifty-six nuns to support--without property, without walls, and without patrons; nor do they know where they will get them, and consequently they suffer what God knows. At first they got along very well, for their parents and relatives were alive, and the inhabitants of Manila, as they had property, aided with their alms. But all that has ceased, and all Manila sees and bewails it. The superiors who governed this [Franciscan] province in the past well foresaw these times, and they accordingly ordered that the convent should have some property; and they had some, and very good it was. But the mother abbess, Gerónima de la Asunción, and other mothers who were among its founders, with the noble spirit that they brought, and as alms did not fail them then, determined to profess the first rule of our mother St. Clare, which does not allow temporal possessions or property. They wrote about that to España, and thus the convent was built for them with the property that they possessed. Without doubt it suffers pressing necessities, but the mothers live consoled, for the poor gospeller is most consoled when he has least; and God, who sustains the birds, sustains and will sustain this convent if it maintains the rigor, poverty, and devotion that it professes.

News of the exceeding poverty and the religious life of this our convent of Santa Clara of Manila reached Macau. That community instantly petitioned for some religious women to found another convent there. It was conceded, and the following religious, having received their letters-patent and outfits, set sail for Macau: as abbess, Mother Leonor de San Francisco, and as her associates, Mother María Magdalena (these two being among those who came from Castilla la Vieja); and of those who had received the habit in this convent of Santa Clara of Manila, Mother Melchora de la Trinidad, Mother Clara de San Francisco, Mother Margarita de la Concepción, Mother Juana de la Concepción--six in all. The novitiate habit was given on the ship to Marta de San Bernardo, a Pampango Indian woman, whom the father provincial refused to allow to receive the habit in the convent of Manila, because of that fact. But he gave her permission to receive it on the sea, as she was so influential a woman and so moral and virtuous; and on that account all the convent had urgently requested it. Father Fray Gerónimo del Espiritu Santo, a religious who was thoroughly satisfactory to the province, accompanied those religious women to Macau; and, after they had founded the convent of Macau, Mother María Magdalena, Mother Margarita, and Mother Clara returned to Manila by license of the superiors. They brought a novice with them, namely, a daughter of Captain Diego Enriquez de Losada, who came with them from Macau. The father reader, Fray Antonio de Santa María, also returned with them to this province; he had remained in Macau, because he had lost his passage to Roma with the loss of Malaca.

VII

Some matters of special interest