Chapter XV: Wars and conquests in the lake of Malanao (8)

[53] The East India Company of England (formed in 1600) encountered great opposition and hindrances in its early history; they had to compete with the long-established Portuguese and Dutch trade, and could obtain little aid from the English government. In 1619 they formed an alliance with the Dutch company of the same name, but this soon proved ineffective. They had obtained control of Surat in 1612, but were thus involved in continual quarrels with the Portuguese. This company did not secure recognition from the English parliament until 1657; this brought them much prosperity for a time, but they afterward lost much of what they had gained, and in 1680 were expelled by the Dutch from Bantam. See Raynal's account of early English trade in the East Indies, in his History of European Settlements and Trade (Justamond's translation), ii, pp. 1-40.

[54] An oversight of the writer; Bantam is in Java, not Sumatra.

[55] Presentado: a theologue who, having finished his course of study, expects soon to receive the master's degree. Tercio was formerly sometimes used for tercero--"tertiary," or one who professes the rule of the third order of St. Francis, St. Dominic, or the Carmelites.

[56] The Order of Mercy was a military order, founded in 1212 by Jaime of Aragon; it had for its object the redemption of captives from the Moors.

[57] Murillo Velarde states (Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 126 b) that in 1640 and 1641 the Dutch waited near the Embocadero to seize the Acapulco galleons, but that these vessels escaped safely to Cavite by taking a different route; this was in consequence of warnings given them, by a system of fire-signals at the Embocadero, planned by the Jesuit Francisco Colin.

[58] An allusion to the solemn public procession made annually on that day, in which the banner of the city was carried; this was in celebration of the defeat of the Chinese pirate Limahon.

[59] A contemporary description of this earthquake is furnished in a rare pamphlet (Manila, 1641), containing a report of this occurrence made by the order of Pedro Arce, bishop of Cebu; part of it is reprinted by Retana in his edition of Zúñiga's Estadismo, ii, pp. 334-336.

[60] That is, when the moon again occupied the position that it had at the time of the earthquake.

[61] See Diaz's detailed account of this earthquake (Conquistas, pp. 474-483). He states that the number of persons killed in this catastrophe was not positively known, but was reported to reach six hundred, only eight of whom were citizens of note, and two were religious. Corcuera was at the time a prisoner in the fortress of Santiago, and showed great courage. In the province of Cagayan, a landslide buried a Mandaya village, and the plains were deluged by the eruptions of water-volcanoes.

[62] That is, having more metal at the breech, to strengthen the piece.

[63] Ticao is a long and narrow strip of land, lying between San Bernardino Strait and Ticao Passage, northeast of Masbate Island. Its shores are steep, and furnish many good anchorages. The population is mainly Bícol.

[64] Probably for palanquetas, meaning cross-bar shots.

[65] Maestre de Campo is a mountainous island thirteen miles southeast of Mindoro, and is a conspicuous landmark for vessels in those waters.

[66] A cape of this name at the northwest point of Mindoro, formed by the slope of a mountain of the same name; a noted landmark.

[67] "The Manchus established themselves in that city [i.e., Nankin; ca. 1645], and reinstated all the Chinese officials, who agreed to shave their heads and recognize the Tartar authority. This was now obligatory on all, and even the great Wou Sankwei, who had invited the Manchus into China, had to submit to this operation." (Boulger's Short History of China, p. 123.)

[68] Murillo Velarde says (Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 138 b) that the commander of the Dutch fleet was fatally wounded in this conflict, and died a few days afterward.

[69] According to Murillo Velarde (Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 129) this was Captain Diego de Cabrera, who "apparently understood stamped paper better than war."

[70] Santa Cruz (Hist. de Philipinas, pp. 103-105) says that the two religious captured by the Dutch were Fray Geronimo de Sotomayor Orrato and Fray Tomas Ramos; that Governor Fajardo refused to ransom them, and they were sent to Batavia; and that, having been finally liberated, they died en route to Manila. Reseña biográfica states (i, p. 426) that they were drowned in shipwreck, late in 1647 or early in 1648.

[71] This was Cornelis van der Lyn, governor-general of the Dutch possessions from April 19, 1645 to December 11, 1650. See Valentyn's Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien, deel iv, pp. 296, 368, for sketch of his life, and portrait.

[72] For further accounts of these attacks by the Dutch, see Diaz's Conquistas, pp. 485-495, 505-509, 511; Santa Cruz's Hist. de Filipinas, pp. 102-105; Murillo Velarde's Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 126-129; Concepción's Hist. de Philipinas, vi, pp. 113-118.

[73] Probably the name of that religious province of the Order of St. John of God from which these brethren were obtained. See VOL. XXVIII, p. 143, note 63.

[74] Sebastián de San José was born in Medina del Campo, January 19, 1566, and at an early age was sent to the university of Salamanca. At the age of nineteen (1585), he took the Franciscan habit at the convent of Zamora. He reached the Philippines in 1605, where he began to study the Tagálog and Japanese languages, in the convent of Santa Ana of Sapa. He was appointed conventual preacher of the Manila convent in 1608, and the following year was appointed commissary-provincial for the islands of Maluco, arriving at Ternate in February, 1610. In June of the same year he went to the island of Macasar where he had great success. On returning from that island to get aid for his missionary labors, he was attacked by the hostile natives of the island of Tagolanda, and killed June 18, 1610. See Huerta's Estado, pp. 381, 382.

[75] Antonio de Santa Ana was born in Garrobillas in Estremadura in 1582, and took the Franciscan habit in 1602. He arrived at the Philippines in 1609, and went in December of that same year to the missions of the Moluccas, where, having been made a prisoner by the Dutch, he was ransomed by the Spanish residents of Ternate. He was captured the following year by the natives of Tagolanda who had killed Sebastián de San José, whom he had accompanied on the mission to Macasar. He was killed by the woman as related in the text (June 28, 1610). See Huerta, ut supra, pp. 382, 383.

[76] But one Franciscan of this name is recorded by Huerta--the noted Plasencia (VOL. VII, p. 185) whose writings appear in VOLS. VII and XVI of this series. The reference in the text is either to some other friar of that name, or is an erroneous statement.

[77] Francisco de Santa Maria came to the Philippines in June, 1577, and spent several years in missions there. In 1581 he went to China, and afterward to Malaca. Returning to Manila in 1585, he set out two years later for Spain; but his ship, fleeing from the Dutch, was obliged to make port in Borneo. There he was slain by the natives (December, 1587), the first martyr among the missionaries, of all orders, sent to the Philippines (Huerta, pp. 370, 371).

[78] Blas Palomino was a native of Audújar and professed in the Franciscan province of Granada, where he became master of novitiates. Going to the Philippines in 1609, he was assigned to the province of Ituy where he established the village of Ituy. In 1617 he went to the village of Binangonan de Lampon, and in 1619 to the Moluccas; but after arriving at Ternate he went to the island of Macasar. Having been ordered to return to Ternate, he embarked in a Portuguese vessel, but being treacherously entreated by some of the natives to return, he went back to the shore (in the territory of Manados), where he was immediately killed (August 30, 1622). See Huerta, ut supra, pp. 386, 387.

[79] Juan de Palma was a native of Toledo, and was a soldier in Flanders in his youth. After returning to Spain he entered the Franciscan convent of San Juan de la Ribera (March 25, 1607). He went to the Philippines in 1611, and in the following year was sent to Japan, where he labored until 1614, when he was exiled and returned to Manila. In that city he acted as procurator until 1623, when he set sail for Spain on various matters of business. Being captured, however, en route by the Dutch, he was killed in 1624, in the forty-sixth year of his age. See Huerta, ut supra, pp. 394. 395.

[80] Gerónimo de San José went to the Philippines in 1628, whence he tried earnestly to go to Japan. Finally embarking for that country in 1632 with some Chinese, he was killed (July or August, 1632) by the latter, who received a reward for the deed in Japan. See Huerta, ut supra, p. 397.

[81] The class of serpents called in Tagálog olopong (Trimeresurus erythrurus--Cant.?) are called aguason in the Visayas. They resemble the vipers and are very poisonous. There are a number of different species. See Delgado's Historia, pp. 896, 897. See also Official Handbook of the Philippines (Manila, 1903), pp. 149, 150.

[82] Anades: a species of duck (Anas boschas).

[83] "Copper ores are reported from a great number of places in the Philippines; they are said to occur in Luzon, Mindoro, Panay, and Mindanao. It is not probable that all of these are important, but northern Luzon contains a copper region of unquestioned value. The best known portion of this region lies about Mount Data, in the province of Lepanto.... In this range copper was smelted by the natives long before Magellan discovered the Philippines. The process consists of alternate partial roasting and reductions to 'matte,' and eventually to block copper. It is generally believed that this process must have been introduced from China or Japan. It is practiced only by one peculiar tribe of natives, the Igorrotes. This tribe is in most respects semibarbarous and lives in great squalor, though industrially they stand on a high level, and show remarkable skill in the working of metals as well as in their extraction. They have turned out not merely implements of small dimensions, but copper kettles as large as three and a half feet in diameter." (Official Handbook of the Philippines, p. 50. For more detailed account see Becker, ut infra, pp. 584-590.)

[84] A reference to the great volcano of Mayón, in Albay. See full account of volcanoes in the Philippines, in Becker's "Geology of the Philippine Islands," in U. S. Geol. Survey Report, 1899-1900, pt. iii, pp. 525-542.

Sulphur can probably be obtained throughout the volcanic regions of the islands.

[85] Pavés: a large oblong shield.

[86] Gregorio de San Estevan is the only one of these religious mentioned by Huerta. He professed in the Franciscan province of San Pablo, whence he went to the Philippines. In November, 1609, he was appointed master of novices in the Manila convent. It is supposed that he was in the Moluccas about 1612, as he wrote a history of the martyrdom of Sebastian de San José and Antonio de Santa Ana. In March, 1622, he was appointed guardian of the convent of Cavite, and in June of that same year was elected definitor and vicar of the royal convent of Santa Clara. In 1625 he went as guardian to the Manila convent, whence he went to administer the convent of Dilao and that of Santa Ana of Sapa (January, 1632). He died at the Manila convent in 1632.

[87] Lorenzo Garraldo was born at Nagore in Navarra, and professed February 4, 1633. He went to the Moluccas in 1638, where he resided at the Ternate convent for some time, going thence to the kingdom of Manados in Macasar. The heathen instigated the people against him, and he was killed February 13, 1642. See Huerta, pp. 404, 405.

[88] Vicente Argent, preacher and lecturer on sacred theology, went to the Philippines in 1630, where he was appointed lecturer in the arts in 1632. He later administered the villages of Gumaca, Santa Cruz, and Mahayhay. In the chapter of January 13, 1635 he was chosen definitor, and in 1639, custodian. In 1641 he went to Nagcarlang, and was elected provincial in the chapter of January 17, 1643, returning after his term to that village. Later he administered the convents in Lilio and Mahayhay, and was commissary-visitor and president of the chapter of January 6, 1652. In 1655 he was at Pangil. He died at sea in 1657, while on his way to Nueva España. See Huerta, p. 454.

[89] Bartolomé de San Diego went to the Philippines in 1628, and was assigned to the Moluccas missions. He went from Ternate to the kingdoms of Calonga and Tabuca, afterward returning to Manila, and died in the convent there in 1648. He wrote a relation of the events of his missions in Calonga and Tabuca (dated April 25, 1640). See Huerta, p. 509.

[90] Ginés de Quesada, lecturer in sacred theology, was born at Mula in Murcía, and went to the Philippines in 1621, where he was the spiritual director of Mother Gerónima de la Asunción. In 1630 he taught sacred theology in the Manila convent, and in 1632 went to the Japanese missions, where he suffered martyrdom June 7, 1634. He left behind several writings. See Huerta, p. 399.

[91] Juan Torrella (not Yorillas) was a native of Alcudia in Valencia, and took his vows at the convent of Gandia October 28, 1610. He went to the Philippines in 1629, and the following year went to Macao as secretary to make investigations regarding the Japanese martyrs. Returning thence to Manila, he went to the Japanese missions in 1632, where he was martyred June 8 or 9, 1634. See Huerta, pp. 399, 400.

[92] Miguel de Talavera, preacher (known in the world as Salvador) was born in Nueva Granada in America, and went to the Philippines with his parents with the fleet of Legazpi while still very young. Remaining at Cebú until 1572, he then went to Manila with a good knowledge of the Visayan language. He learned Latin from Juan de Plasencia, and took the habit in 1580. In 1587 he set out for Spain with Francisco de Santa Maria; but, having taken refuge in Borneo, the latter was killed by the natives, and the former returned to Manila in 1588. In 1597 he was in the village of Siniloan and founded the villages of Guilinguiling and Marata, which were afterward formed into the village of Caboan. In 1604 he went to Nagcarlan, but returned to Siniloan the following year, which he left in 1609 for Guilinguiling. He returned to the former village in 1611 and established the village of Mabitac, going in 1616 to Santa Cruz de Potac, where he remained until his death, which occurred at Pila, July 29, 1622. He wrote a number of treatises in the Tagálog language. See Huerta, pp. 499-501.

[93] Diego de la Asunción, preacher, is not mentioned in any of the lists of missions, capitular tables, or book of the deceased. He must have died before the year 1690. He is mentioned by various chronologists as having written a number of works in Tagálog. These comprise a Tagálog grammar; a dictionary; translations of the gospels, of Genesis, and of the book called Passio duorum; doctrinal discourses; a treatise on confession; and other devotional treatises. See Huerta, pp. 517, 518.

[94] Gerónimo Montes y Escamilla (or de San Antonio), confessor, professed in the Spanish Franciscan province of San José, and left for the Philippines in 1580, but was detained in Mexico until 1583, when he resumed his voyage. He labored in the villages of Gumaca, Meycauayan, Santa Ana de Sapa, Morong, and Nagcarlan, and died in 1610 at Lumban. He was well versed in the Tagálog, in which he left a number of writings. See Huerta, p. 495.

[95] Pedro de San Buenaventura, confessor, went to the Philippines about 1594. In 1597 he was associate at Nagcarlan, and was also employed in the missions of Paete, Maoban, Pasabango, Santa Cruz, Siniloan, and was conventual preacher at Manila. In 1611 he went to take charge of the convent of Pila, and afterward administered the missions of Meycauayan, Paete, Tayabas, Santa Cruz, and Lilio. He sailed for Mexico in 1627, but died at sea. He left a Spanish-Tagálog dictionary, which was printed in Manila by Tomás Pimpin, in 1613, and was the first dictionary printed in that language. See Huerta, pp. 501, 502.

[96] Alonso de Santa Ana, preacher, was a native of Ponferrada, and took the Franciscan habit after becoming a priest. He went to the Philippines in 1594, and after a life of usefulness died at the Manila convent in 1630. He left a number of writings in the Tagalog language, some of which were printed. See Huerta, pp. 504, 505.

[97] Andrés de San Agustín, confessor, went to the Philippines in 1626, where he became minister in the village of Bacon, In 1628 he went to the village of Indan and worked later in the villages of Bula, Quipayo, Daet, Naga, Oás, and Minalabag. In the chapter of January 9, 1649, he was elected definitor and minister of the village of Sampaloc, where he fell sick. He died after his retirement to the Manila convent in 1649, leaving a number of writings in the Bícol dialect. See Huerta, p. 509.

[98] See VOL. XVII, p. 70, note 15.

[99] Marcos de Lisboa, preacher, was born in Lisboa, Portugal, of noble parents, who sent him to engage in the Indian commerce at an early age, he taking up his residence at Malaca. He took the Franciscan habit in that city in 1582, and went to the Philippines in 1586, where he projected the foundation of the Santa Misericordia in Manila and contributed to its establishment in 1594. Later he went to Camarines where he had charge of the villages of Polangui and Oás. He was elected definitor and minister of Naga in 1602, and went to Oás in 1605. In the chapter of May 24, 1608, he was again elected definitor, and January 16, 1609, he was elected vicar-provincial, governing until October 29, 1611, during which time the missions to the province of Ituy were founded. At the end of his term he was elected guardian of Naga, and in 1616 was elected definitor for the third time and minister of Dilao. He went to Mexico in 1618, and having been appointed custodian for the general chapter of July 16, 1622, he went to Madrid and thence to Rome. At the conclusion of the chapter he retired to the convent of San Gil in Madrid, where he died at the beginning of 1628. He left a number of writings in the Bícol dialect. See Huerta, pp. 447, 448.

[100] See VOL. XVI, p. 29, note 2.

[101] For account of this expedition, see VOL. XIX, p. 36.

[102] Andrés de Puertollano, preacher, went to the Philippines in 1616, where besides being occupied in preaching and confessing, he labored in the missions of Sampaloc and Paete, and also acted as guardian of the Cavite convent. In 1643, while on his way to Spain to get more missionaries, he was wrecked near San Domingo. His death occurred as related in the text. See Huerta, p. 406.

[103] Blas de la Madre de Dios was born in Lisboa, Portugal, and was early sent by his parents to engage in the Indian trade. He settled in the city of Malaca, where, after contributing all his possessions to charity, he took the habit in 1582. In 1585 he went to the Philippines, where having learned the language, he was assigned to the village of Morong. Thence he went to the village of Pila, and helped establish the village of Guilinguiling (1600), and was later in that of Palilla. In the chapter of May 14, 1605, he was elected definitor and minister of Meycauayan, and was later assigned to the village of Paete. October 29, 1611, he was elected provincial, and during his term the villages of Daet, Bactas, and Paracale were established. He was the first provincial to visit the province of Ituy, where he suffered many hardships. At the end of his provincialate he was assigned to the village of Lumbang. In 1618 he went to Mexico whence he returned to Manila in 1621, going the same year to the village of Mabitac. March 15, 1622, he was elected vicar-provincial, but in June of that same year went to the village of Santa Cruz de Potac. He went to the village of Pangil in June, 1625, whence he retired sick to Pila, where he died September 7, 1626. He left a number of writings, among them a treatise on the flora of the Philippines, the first one to be written. See Huerta, pp. 448, 449.

[104] "O height of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how incomprehensible are the tokens of the one and how unsearchable the nature of the other!"

[105] A somewhat hasty and vague statement of the case as given by Gonzalez in Aduarte's Historia (ed. 1640), p. 404. What Concepción means to say is, that Aduarte renounced the rights conferred upon him by the briefs and decrees, enabling him to compel the missionary friars to submit to diocesan visitation and examination--doing so on the ground that such supervision would be injurious to the Indians in their charge. See our VOL. XXXII, p. 283.