Chapter I: Part 1

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and
their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions,
as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the
political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those
islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the
close of the nineteenth century,

Volume XLIV, 1700-1736

Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne.

The Arthur H. Clark Company
Cleveland, Ohio
MCMVI

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XLIV

Preface 11

Documents of 1700-1730

Jesuit missions in the seventeenth century. Pedro
Murillo Velarde; Manila, 1749 27
Condition of the islands, 1701. José Vila, O.P., and
others; Manila, October 7, 1701 120
Events of 1701-1715. [Summarized from Concepción's
Historia de Philipinas.] 142
The government and death of Bustamante. Diego de
Otazo, S.J., and others; Manila, 1719-20 148
Letter by a Spanish officer. Manuel de Santistevan;
Manila, January 28, 1730 196

Commerce of the Philippines with Nueva España, 1640-1736
(to be concluded). Antonio Álvarez de Abreu; Madrid, 1736.
[From Extracto historial.] 227

Bibliographical Data 313

ILLUSTRATIONS

Photographic facsimile of frontispiece to Pedro Murillo
Velarde's Historia de la provincia de Philipinas (Manila,
1749); from copy possessed by Edward E. Ayer, Chicago
Frontispiece
Map of Mindanao, showing Spanish settlements, and districts
occupied by the Jesuits and Recollects; photographic
facsimile from original MS. (dated 1683) in Archivo general
de Indias, Sevilla 51
Plan of the palace, Audiencia hall, and exchequer of Manila;
photographic facsimile from original MS. in Archivo general
de Indias, Sevilla 153
Plan of fortifications at Zamboanga, 1719; photographic
facsimile of original manuscript map in Archivo general de
Indias, Sevilla 163

PREFACE

The present volume covers the first third of the eighteenth century, besides reviewing the Jesuit missions in Filipinas during that which preceded it. The only occurrence of notable interest in the former period is the murder of Governor Bustamante by a mob (1719), which is even more remarkable for the utterly lawless manner in which the deed was committed, and the successful efforts made to stifle its proper investigation and punishment. The memorial of the religious orders (1701) discloses vividly the tyranny and oppression suffered by the Indians at the hands of their Spanish masters. Especially valuable is Abreu's historical sketch of the commerce between the islands and Nueva España up to 1736, and of the sharp controversy which this aroused between the traders of Manila and those of Cadiz and Sevilla.

An account of Jesuit labors in the islands during the seventeenth century is furnished by Murillo Velarde, historian of that order, in his Historia de Philipinas (Manila, 1749). In 1618 the advent of two comets so terrifies the people that the Jesuits by their preaching win many souls, not only in Manila (the most cosmopolitan city in the Spanish empire), but in its environs. These fathers are eminently successful, both as preachers and as confessors; their manifold duties, and their methods of reaching all classes, are fully recounted. Some of them conduct successful missions in Bondoc (Luzón) and the island of Marinduque; in the latter, many relapsed Christians are reclaimed, and wild Indians are induced to settle in villages. At the desire of the archbishop of Manila, the Jesuits labor for some time in the port of Cavite and at Old Cavite, where they encounter and reform a fearfully corrupt state of morals; they also minister to the Chinese residing near Manila. In 1628 a fatal epidemic causes many deaths in and near that city: in this calamity the Jesuits minister untiringly to the sick and dying, as also do some of the Indian converts. About this time the Jesuit missions are established in Mindanao, and soon afterward in Negros and Mindoro. In 1632 a considerable reënforcement of laborers arrives at Manila: their zealous labors were begun as soon as they embarked at Cadiz, ministering to the people on their ship. The writer narrates the progress of their labors in Mindoro, Maragondong, and Negros; and gives an historical sketch of the early Jesuit labors in Mindanao, and of those carried on after 1642 at Iligan and Sibuguey. After the conquest of Jolo, Jesuit missionaries labor successfully in that island; their Joloan converts afterward, when the missionaries are obliged to leave them, become exiles from their own land and go to Zamboanga, in order to maintain themselves as Christians. The missions in the Pintados Islands are very flourishing, except for the sufferings of their people from the raids of the southern Moros. All the Philippine missions are greatly hindered and weakened, about 1640, by lack of laborers; but in 1643 large bands of Jesuits and Dominicans arrive at Manila, and give new life to the missions. In 1648-49 Spanish punitive expeditions are sent to Borneo, which do much damage to those piratical natives, carry away many captives, and ransom some Christians held there. These armadas are accompanied by Jesuits as chaplains, who take this opportunity to announce the gospel in Borneo, and baptize seven hundred islanders; this gives them great hopes for a numerous and extensive Christian church to be founded there, "but, lacking the protection of the Spanish military forces, this so beautiful hope faded away almost at its flowering." Our writer expatiates on the dangers and privations, the loneliness and sickness, the difficulties and opposition, that are bravely encountered and patiently endured by the missionaries; and the variety of duties which they must perform, not only ministerial, but those of teacher, umpire, architect, etc. Much is accomplished in Basilan and Mindanao by a few faithful laborers.

The moral and social conditions prevalent in the islands become exceedingly corrupt, and the Spanish colony experiences many calamities and misfortunes, regarded as the Divine chastisement for their transgressions. The remedy sought for this comes as a papal brief authorizing the archbishop of Manila to absolve all the inhabitants of the islands from their transgressions, and from any excommunications incurred by them, and granting plenary indulgence to all who should "worthily prepare to receive it." This grant being duly published (March 1, 1654), great good results from it--within Manila alone, more than 40,000 persons confessing their sins, and a great reformation being made in the morals of the people. Another wave of religious enthusiasm occurs in the following year, under the direction of the Jesuits. In 1654 the cornerstone of the new cathedral building is laid. The spiritual interests of Ternate and Siao are placed in the care of the Jesuits, who gain many souls in both these fields. In 1662 a new mission band arrives at Manila, and some of the Jesuits go out into the ranches and mountain hamlets near Manila; among these, the noted Father Sanvitores baptizes 24,000 heathens in seven days, and prepares many others for baptism. The Pardo controversy leads to so many difficulties between the ecclesiastical authorities and the religious orders that they offer to the king their resignation of the ministries held by them in the islands; but he refuses to allow the Jesuits to do this, and even restores to them two parishes of which they had been deprived. Our author relates in detail the methods practiced by the Jesuits in administering their parishes, and the devotions and pious exercises that are practiced by the faithful. Finally, the history of the parish of San Matheo, and that of the house of Indian "beatas" in Manila, are presented.

A brief summary of events in the years 1701-15 is presented, condensed from the diffuse account of Concepción. Governor Zabalburú, the successor of Cruzat, constructs various important public works. In the Tournon affair (1704), the governor and archbishop show undue laxity in allowing Tournon to interfere in their jurisdiction and infringe on the royal prerogatives; for this and other causes they are removed from their offices. In 1709 Conde de Lizarraga assumes the office of governor; but little of interest occurs during his term. To this is appended a memorial addressed to Zabalburú (October 7, 1701) by the provincials of the religious orders in the islands, urging him to reform various abuses--the neglect of the military posts and of new conquests of infidels; the sufferings of the natives from the building of galleons; the severity, oppression, and fraud practiced on the Indians in the collection of tributes and in requisitions for personal services; the greed and cruelty of Spanish officials; the prevalence of gambling and vagabondism; laxity in enforcing the laws that prohibit or restrict the immigration of infidels--Moors, Chinese, and others; and neglect of religious affairs. From these abuses result most deplorable effects: the depopulation of the islands, the prevalence of vice, the ruin of many formerly prosperous Indian villages, and the exhaustion and demoralization of the natives. The governor is urged to reform these evils and protect the poor Indians.

In summarized form is presented Concepción's account of the government (ad interim) of the auditor Torralba and (proprietary) of Bustamante, from 1715 to 1719, in which year the latter is attacked and slain by a mob, the people revolting against Bustamante's violent and arbitrary acts. To this are added letters by the Jesuit Otazo and Archbishop Cuesta, the latter of whom is a prominent figure in the history of that time. The court of the Audiencia at Manila had been broken up by the arrest of the auditors, for various charges of official malfeasance, or as a result of hostilities with the governor; and Torralba himself is imprisoned by Bustamante for misconduct. Afterward, desiring the countenance of an audiencia for his proceedings, Bustamante forms one with Torralba and some associates; but the legality of this procedure is questioned by the archbishop and the university professors of law. The governor, as soon as he entered office, had undertaken to collect by force the large amounts due to the treasury from its debtors; he succeeded therein, but of course awakened hatred and resentment in many of the citizens. A controversy arises with the archbishop over a question of ecclesiastical immunity; he excommunicates Torralba, and is afterward arrested by the governor, who also imprisons most of the prominent ecclesiastics. Then arises a tumult among the people, and a conspiracy is formed against Bustamante. The friars sally out from their convents and are joined by the numerous persons who, in fear of the governor's tyrannical acts, have taken refuge in the churches, and by a crowd of the common people. All this throng go to the governor's palace, and attack him; he is terribly wounded, and dies after a few hours, and his son also is slain. At the urgent demand of all, Archbishop Cuesta accepts the post of governor ad interim, and forms an audiencia with the released auditors. Bustamante's children are sent to Mexico. Investigations of the murder are attempted, in both Manila and Mexico, but are practically fruitless. Otazo's letter (November 19, 1719) gives a brief account of the murder and the circumstances connected with it, especially of his own ministrations to the dying Bustamante; he then enlarges on the latter's pious death, and for this reason urges his correspondent to refute the slanders that will doubtless be spread about the dead man. He urges that in the residencia of Bustamante's government action should be taken only in cases which may involve injury to other parties, and that all other matters (including the riot) be "buried in oblivion," for the service of God and the king, the good of souls, and the tranquillity of the colony. In order to prevent the recurrence of such troubles, he advises--his letter being evidently intended to influence those in power, apparently the confessors of the king--that the governor of Filipinas be here-after kept in check by a council composed of prominent ecclesiastics and religious; and that all important appointments to offices in the islands be made by the king instead of the governor. Otazo details this plan quite fully, and calls for more careful selection of governors and other officials for the islands. He closes by praising one of the auditors, Toribio, as an upright official and God-fearing man. The letter of Archbishop Cuesta (June 28, 1720) gives his version of the tragedy lately enacted, and relates how he was forced by the popular will to act as governor until that vacancy should be filled by the crown.

A Spanish officer in Manila, Manuel de Santistevan, writes to a cousin in Spain (January 28, 1730), giving the latter an account of his friendly relations with the new governor of Filipinas, Fernando Valdés Tamón; of various family affairs of his own; and of the troubles which he has experienced at the hands of the members of the Audiencia, who envy his intimacy with the governor and endeavor to undermine it. He has a quarrel with his father-in-law, a passionate, scheming, and selfish man; but it is patched up by the intervention of the governor and archbishop, and they are nominally reconciled. At the same time, Santistevan and his wife, who had had difficulties, are reunited. He asks his correspondent to secure for him several favors from the court: a certain amount of lading-space on the Acapulco galleon; an appointment to a governorship in one of the Spanish colonies; the command of the Acapulco galleon in which he hopes to leave the Philippines; and reimbursement for some property belonging to his wife which was seized by the viceroy of Mexico, on account of the late Governor Bustamante's debts to the crown.

At this point we resume the history of Philippine commerce with Nueva España which is presented in the Extracto historial (Madrid, 1736), the first two "periods" of which appeared in VOL. XXX of this series. On account of its great length and the necessary limitations of the space available to us, we are obliged to condense and abridge much of this work; but "Periods" ii-vi are given in full (save for the text of some long decrees). The third of these gives no information regarding that commerce from 1640 to the end of that century, save that the viceroy of Mexico made remonstrances during 1684-86 as to the difficulties which embarrassed the Mexican government in collecting duties and preventing frauds; and that in 1697 royal decrees command a stricter enforcement in Mexico of the existing laws and regulations for that commerce. This proceeding disturbs the merchants of Manila, who ask for more freedom and the removal of certain restrictions. Along with this, the Spanish government is beset by demands from its American colonies, who desire to profit by the Philippine commerce, and by remonstrances from the Spanish merchants who are being ruined by it. The government thereupon makes new regulations (August 12, 1702) for the Philippine trade, including some concessions to the Manila merchants--who nevertheless raise objections to some of them, as is shown by the governor's report; he makes some temporary concessions to them, which (with one exception) are not sustained by the home government. By its orders, the viceroy of Mexico makes an investigation (in 1712; "Period" iv) of the alleged illegal conduct of the Philippine-Mexican commerce, and finds very serious infractions of the law in many directions. A letter from the viceroy (dated August 4, 1714) to the king shows how these frauds are committed, and how difficult it is to prove them. He does all in his power to check or punish them, but conditions are such as to hamper his efforts and shield the guilty. Linares shows how these things are injuring the commerce of Filipinas and the interests of its native Spanish citizens, and places the whole matter before the home government for action thereon. The fifth "Period" is concerned with the injurious effects of that commerce on the industries and trade of the mother country, and the attempts of the government to remedy these. The merchants of Nueva España ask that the trading-fleets sent thither annually from Spain be discontinued, whereupon the royal Council ask for information on this subject from the commercial houses of Sevilla. The latter remonstrate against allowing the importation of Chinese goods into Nueva España, since this is ruining the commerce of Spain in that country. The Sevillans complain of the abuses in the Filipinas trade, and of the showy and cheap imitations of Spanish goods which the Chinese send by this agency to Acapulco, which have driven out the genuine articles and thus have ruined both the traders and the manufacturers of Spain. Moreover, the wealth of Nueva España is being drained into the heathen land of China. Accordingly, the Sevillans urge that severe restrictions be placed on the Manila-Acapulco trade, and that the Spanish trading fleets be sent regularly and often. As a result of this protest and of the proceedings in the Council, the king decrees (1718) that the trade in Chinese silken goods be henceforth prohibited. In 1719, Viceroy Valero remonstrates ("Period" vi) against this prohibition, in behalf of not only Filipinas but his own subjects in Nueva España, most of whom are too poor to purchase Spanish goods for their garments and depend on the cheap goods from China; he also declares that the Filipinas trade is necessary for enabling the Mexican treasury to meet its obligations. This memorial being submitted to the fiscal at Madrid, he advises that the prohibition of trade in Chinese goods be removed. After much discussion and consultation, the matter is decided thus, a royal decree (dated October 27, 1720) being issued accordingly: the Filipinas commerce with Nueva España must be restricted to 300,000 pesos, and to certain products and manufactured articles, from which are strictly excluded all silken fabrics; the amount of money sent in return is limited to 600,000 pesos; citizens of Nueva España are strictly forbidden to send their own money to Filipinas: and various precautions, restrictions, and penalties are provided.

This decree is received ("Period" vii) at Manila on August 2, 1722. The municipal council address memorials to the governor protesting against the restrictions imposed on the Filipinas trade, and showing that the enforcement of these would ruin them; but the governor refuses to suspend the decree, and the fiscal advises the merchants to appeal to the Madrid court. The citizens send deputies thither, and persuade the Audiencia to second their petitions for more liberal treatment, and for the suspension of the decree of 1720. Letters to this effect from that body inform the home government of the losses previously sustained by the merchants of Filipinas, the dependence of the islands on their commerce with Nueva España, the vital importance to that commerce of the goods from China, and the danger that if these goods are prohibited the conversion of the Chinese will be rendered exceedingly difficult; the Audiencia therefore recommends that the trade in silks be allowed, and the amount of the permission increased to 250,000 pesos. This opinion is supported by one of similar tenor, given by the royal fiscal at Manila; the points which he makes are elaborated at length in a report sent by him to the king, dated November 15, 1722. In the same vein are letters written to support the demands of the citizens, by the royal officials, the archbishop and other prominent ecclesiastics, and the superiors of the religious orders; of these the most forcible is that written by the Jesuit provincial. He urges that the natural resources of the Philippines be more industriously cultivated, and suggests that the Spaniards compel the other inhabitants of the islands (Indians, mestizos, and others) "to weave the cloth goods which are manufactured in other regions." Deputies go from Manila to Madrid, to present the claims of Filipinas, and hand in a printed memorial containing their arguments for the suspension of the decree of 1720. This and similar documents brought forward by both sides show a curious mixture of religious, political, and commercial motives, as well as the jealousy and ill-will aroused in the minds of the Spanish merchants as soon as Manila diverts from Cadiz any notable amount of trade; and interesting revelations are made of the practical workings of the selfish policy pursued by Spain toward her colonies, and the undue paternalism which would keep them forever in leading-strings. It is shown that the strength of Spain as a world-power is being undermined by the heretic nations of Europe--England, France, and Holland--because they display superior energy and ability in manufactures and commerce. From this time (1723) until the year when the Extracto was compiled by order of the Spanish government (1736), there appears a steady and increasingly bitter controversy between the commercial interests of Manila and Cadiz, the former evidently having powerful support in government circles, and the latter becoming alarmed at the precarious condition of both its American trade and the Spanish industry and commerce in silk fabrics. Manila tries to show that its trade in Chinese silks is necessary to the propagation of the Christian faith in China, and to its maintenance in the Philippines; Cadiz laughs this claim to scorn. Manila claims that the decadence of the silk industry in Spain is due to other causes than the importation of Chinese goods into Mexico; and a large part of the raw silk produced in Spain is bought by the industrial nations of Europe and manufactured into fabrics, which are brought back to Spain by these foreigners to supply not only that country but her colonies, the goods being shipped to the Indias in Spanish bottoms. The royal fiscal at Madrid supports the contention of Manila, but would confine its trade strictly to the amount allowed it by the government; and he thinks that the complaints by Cadiz arise from the frauds and abuses in the Manila trade, rather than from the mere fact of its including Chinese goods. Manila proposes for the conduct of the commerce a plan which will obviate the difficulties therein, but this is opposed by the fiscal and other officials. Direct appeal being made to the king, he consents (October, 1726) to test this plan for five years. The remainder of Abreu's work will appear in VOL. XLV.

The Editors
September, 1906.

DOCUMENTS OF 1700-1730

Jesuit missions in the seventeenth century. Pedro Murillo
Velarde; 1749.
Condition of the islands, 1701. José Vila, O.P., and others;
October 7, 1701.
Events of 1701-15. [Summarized from Concepción's Historia
de Philipinas.]
The government and death of Bustamante. Diego de Otazo, S.J.,
and others; 1719-20.
Letter by a Spanish officer. Manuel de Santistevan; January
28, 1730.

Sources: The first of these documents is compiled from Murillo Velarde's Historia de Philipinas (Manila, 1749), using such parts as directly relate to the missionary labors of the Jesuit order in the islands; from a copy of the original in possession of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago. The second is found in the Ventura del Arco MSS., (Ayer library), v, pp. 201-230; and, in the fourth, Otazo's and Cuesta's letters are found in iv, pp. 249-295. The third is summarized from Concepción's Historia de Philipinas, viii, pp. 299-391; part of the fourth is from ix, pp. 183-424; and the rest is obtained as stated above. The fifth is translated from a MS. probably the original, in possession of Edward E. Ayer.

Translations: These are all made by Emma Helen Blair.

JESUIT MISSIONS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

[In 1618 two unusually brilliant comets were visible in the Philippines; their effects on the minds of the people are thus described (fol. 5):] [1] There was great variety and inaccuracy of opinion about the comets; but through that general although confused notion which the majority of people form, that comets presage disastrous events, and that the anger of God threatens men by them, they assisted greatly in awakening contrition in the people, and inciting them to do penance. To this the preachers endeavored to influence them with forcible utterances, for the Society had not been behind [the other orders] in preparing the city for the entire success of the jubilee; [2] for there was one occasion when eleven Jesuits were counted, who, distributed at various stations, cried out like Jonah, threatening destruction to impenitent and rebellious souls. God giving power to their words, this preaching was like the seed in the gospel story, scattered on good ground, which not only brought forth its fruit correspondingly, but so promptly that those who heard broke down in tears at hearing the eternal truths; and, like thirsty deer, when the sermon was ended they followed the preacher that he might hear their confessions, already dreading lest some emergency might find them in danger of damnation. This harvest was not confined within the walls of Manila, but extended to its many suburbs, and to the adjacent villages, in which missions had been conducted. Not only was there preaching to the Spaniards, but to the Tagálogs, the Indian natives of the country--who, in token of their fervor, gave from their own scanty supply food in abundance to the jails and prisons, Ours aiding them to carry the food, to the edification of the city. To the Japanese who were living in our village of San Miguel--exiles from their native land, in order to preserve their religion, who had taken refuge in Manila, driven out from that kingdom by the tyrant Taycosama--our fathers preached, in their own language. And it can be said that there was preaching to all the nations, that which occurred to the apostles in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost being represented in Manila; for I believe that there is no city in the world in which so many nationalities come together as here. For besides the Spaniards (who are the citizens and owners of the country) and the Tagálogs (who are the Indian natives of the land), there are many other Indians from the islands, who speak different tongues--such as the Pampangos, the Camarines [i.e., the Bicols], the Bisayans, the Ilocans, the Pangasinans, and the Cagayans. There are Creoles [Criollos], or Morenos, who are swarthy blacks, natives of the country; [3] there are many Cafres, and other negroes from Angola, Congo, and Africa. There are blacks from Asia, Malabars, Coromandels, and Canarins. There are a great many Sangleys, or Chinese--part of them Christians, but the majority heathens. There are Ternatans, and Mardicas (who took refuge here from Ternate); there are some Japanese; there are people from Borney and Timor, and from Bengal; there are Mindanaos, Joloans, and Malays; there are Javanese, Siaos, and Tidorans; there are people from Cambay and Mogol, and from other islands and kingdoms of Asia. There are a considerable number of Armenians, and some Persians; and Tartars, Macedonians, Turks, and Greeks. There are people from all the nations of Europa--French, Germans, and Dutch; Genoese and Venetians; Irish and Englishmen; Poles and Swedes. There are people from all the kingdoms of España, and from all America; so that he who spends an afternoon on the tuley [4] or bridge of Manila will see all these nationalities pass by him, behold their costumes, and hear their languages--something which cannot be done in any other city in the entire Spanish monarchy, and hardly in any other region in all the world.

From this arises the fact that the confessional of Manila is, in my opinion, the most difficult in all the world; for, as it is impossible to confess all these people in their own tongues, it is necessary to confess them in Spanish; and each nationality has made its own vocabulary of the Spanish language, with which those people have intercourse [with us], conduct their affairs, and make themselves understood; and without it Ours can understand them only with great difficulty, and almost by divination. A Sangley, an Armenian, and a Malabar will be heard talking together in Spanish, and our people do not understand them, as they so distort the word and the accent. The Indians have another Spanish language of their own; and the Cafres have one still more peculiar, to which must be added that they eat half of the words. No one save he who has had this experience can state the labors which it costs to confess them; and even when the fault is understood in general, to seek for a specific account of the circumstances is to enter a labyrinth without a clue. For they do not understand our orderly mode of speech, and therefore when they are questioned they say "yes" or "no" as it occurs to them, without rightly understanding what is asked from them--so that in a short time they will utter twenty contradictions. It is therefore necessary to accommodate oneself to their language, and learn their vocabulary. Another of the very serious difficulties is the little capacity of these people to distinguish and explain numbers, incidents, and circumstances; add to this the unbridled licentiousness of some, in accordance with the freedom and opportunities [for vice] in this land, the continual backsliding, and the few indications of fixed purpose. In others, who are capable and explain their meaning well, is found a complication of perplexities--with a thousand reflections, and bargains, and frauds, and oaths all joined together; and faults that are extraordinary and of new kinds, which keep even the most learned man continually studying them. The heat of the country, and the stench or foul odor of the Indians and the negroes, unite in great part to make a hardship of the ministry, which in these islands is the most difficult; and on this account I regard it as being very meritorious. The annual confessions last from the beginning of Lent until Corpus Christi. In our college of Manila the church is open from daylight until eleven o'clock, and from two o'clock until nightfall; and always some fathers are present to hear confessions--for this is done not only by the active ministers, but by the instructors, when their scholastic duties give them opportunity; and I have known some fathers who remain to hear confessions during seven, eight, or more hours a day.

It makes them bear all these annoyances patiently, and even sweetens these, to see how many souls are kept pure by the grace of God, in the midst of so many temptations, like the bramble in the midst of the fire without being burned. There are many who are striving for perfection, who frequent the sacraments, who maintain prayer and spiritual reading, and who give much in alms and perform other works of charity. And it is cause for the greatest consolation to see, at the solemn festivals of the Virgin and other important feasts, the confessional surrounded by Indians, Cafres, and negroes, men and women, great and small, who are awaiting their turns with incredible patience, kept there through the grace of God, against every impulse of their natural dispositions and their slothfulness. And at the season of Lent it is heart-breaking to see the confessor, when he rises from his seat, surrounded by more than a hundred persons of all colors, who go away disconsolate because they have not obtained an opportunity to make their confessions; and in this manner they go and come for eight or ten days, or a fortnight, or even more, with unspeakable patience, but with such eagerness that when the confessor rises they go following him throughout the house, calling to him to hear their confessions. This is done even by boys of seven to twelve years, and hardly with violence can they be made to leave the father, and they continue to call after him; and some remain in the passages, on their knees, asking for confession, so great is the number of the penitents--to which that of the confessors does not correspond by far, nor does their assiduity, even if there were enough of them. The Society is not content with aiding those who come to seek relief in our church, and attending the year round all the sick, of various languages, who summon them to hear confession; but its laborers go forth--as it were, gospel hunters--to search for penitents. They assist almost all who are executed in the city; every week they go to the jails and hospitals; in Lent they hear confessions in all the prisons, and at the foundry, those of the galley-slaves. And in the course of the year they hear confessions in the college of Santa Ysabel--in which there are more than a hundred students, who are receiving the most admirable education--and in the seminary of Santa Potenciana, the students frequenting the sacraments often; and, in fine, they go on a perpetual round in pursuit of the impious.

The confessional is, as it were, the harvesting of the crop; and the pulpit is the sowing, in which the seed of the gospel is scattered in the hearts of men, where with the watering of grace it bears fruit in due time, according to the coöperation [of the Holy Ghost?]. With great constancy and solicitude the Society contributes to the cultivation of these fields of Christianity, with preaching. In Manila the Society has, besides the sermons from the holy men of the order, other endowed feasts, and the set sermons [5] in the cathedral and the royal chapel. When necessity requires it, a mission is held, and the attendance is very large, although hardly a fifth of those who hear understand the Spanish language; this to a certain extent discourages the missionaries, as does even much more the fact that they do not encounter those external demonstrations of excitement and tears that they arouse in other places. This originates from the characteristic of a large part of the audience, that these attend with due seriousness only to certain undertakings; and the distractions of their disputes and business affairs, and their indolence and the air of the country, dissipate their attention beyond measure. Their imaginations, overborne with foolish trifles, and accustomed to our voices, become so relaxed that even the most forcible and persuasive discourses make little, if any, impression. Nevertheless, there are many in whom the holy fear of God reigns, and the seed of the gospel takes root--which they embrace with seriousness and simplicity, as the importance of the subject demands. The marvel is, that many Indians and a great many Indian women, only by the sound of [the preaching in] the mission, and without understanding what they hear, are stricken with contrition, confess themselves, and receive communion, in order to gain the indulgences--to their own great advantage, and to the unspeakable consolation of their confessors at seeing the wonderfully loving providence of God for these souls.

This fruit and this consolation are most evident in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, [6] which are explained through most of the year in our college. The principal citizens make their retreat there, and in the solitude of that retirement God speaks to them within their hearts; and marvelous results have been seen in various persons, in whom has been established a tenor of life so Christian that they may be called the religious of the laymen--in their minds those eternal truths, on which they meditate with seriousness, remaining firm, for the orderly conduct of their lives. The students in the college of San Joseph have their own society, which meets every Sunday, in which they perform their exercises of devotion and have their exhortations, during the course of the year. Every Sunday the Christian doctrine is explained to the boys in the school, and some example [for their imitation] is related to them; and they walk in procession through the streets, chanting the doctrine. The Indian servants of the college have their own assembly, conducted in a very decorous manner, with continual instruction in the doctrine. Every Saturday an address in Tagálog is given to the beatas who attend our church; they have their own society, and exercise themselves in frequent devotions, furnishing an excellent and useful example to the community. Every year they perform the spiritual exercises; and the topics therein are given to them in Tagálog, in our church, by one of Ours. Many devout Indian and mestizo women resort hither on this occasion, to perform these exercises, in various weeks, for which purpose they make retreat in the beaterio during the week required for that; and even Spanish women, including ladies of the most distinguished position, perform their spiritual exercises, and the topics for meditation are assigned to them in our church. This practice is very beneficial for their souls, of great usefulness to the community, and remarkably edifying to all.

The Society also busies itself in the conversion and reconciliation of certain heretics, who are wont to come from the East (as has been observed in recent years), and in catechising and baptizing the Moros or the heathens who sometimes reach the islands--either driven from their route, or called by God in other ways; and He draws them to himself, so that they obtain holy baptism, as has been seen in late years in some persons from the Palaos and Carolina islands, and from Siao. Another of the means of which the Society avails itself for the good of souls is, to print and distribute free many spiritual books in various languages, which are most efficacious although mute preachers. These, removing from men their erroneous ideas by clear exposition [of the truth], and leaving them without the cloak of their own fantastic notions, persuade them, without being wearisome, to abandon vice or error; and then they embrace virtue and the Christian mode of life. In Lent, as being an acceptable time and especially opportune for the harvest, the dikes are opened, in order that the waters of the word of God may flow more abundantly. On Tuesdays there is preaching to the Spaniards, and these sermons usually have the efficacy of a mission, although not given under that name. On Thursdays there is explanation of the doctrine, and preaching, in Tagálog, to the Indians; the attendance is very great, since many come, not only from the numerous suburbs of Manila, but even from the more distant villages. On Saturdays some good example of the Virgin is related, with a moral exhortation; the Spaniards who are members of fraternities attend these, and afterward visit the altars. On Sundays there is preaching to the Cafres, blacks, creoles, and Malabars--who through a sense of propriety are called Morenos, although they are dark-skinned. The sermon is in Spanish, and the greatest difficulty of the preacher is to adapt his language to the understanding of the audience. Various poor Spaniards also attend these sermons, as well as other people, of various shades of color, of both sexes.

Every Sunday certain fathers are sent to preach at the fort or castle, to the soldiers and the other men who live there. The Christian doctrine is chanted through the streets, and in the procession walk the boys of the school; it ends at the royal chapel, where some part of the catechism is explained, and a moral sermon is preached to the soldiers who live in their quarters in order to mount guard. The doctrine is explained at the Puerta Real and at the Puerta del Parián, and there is preaching in the guard-room--where there is a large attendance, not only of soldiers, but of the many people who, on entering or going out from the gates, stop to hear the word of God. Another father goes to the royal foundry, in which the galley-slaves live, where there is such a variety of people--mestizos, Indians of various dialects, Cafres, negroes of different kinds, and Sangleys or Chinese--that exceptional ability and patience are necessary in order to make them understand. Other fathers go to the college of Santa Isabel and the seminary of Santa Potenciana, where they give addresses and exhortations to the students of the former, and the women secluded in the latter. Others go to the prisons of both the ecclesiastical and secular jurisdictions, in order that the prisoners may obtain the spiritual food of the doctrine. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays there is in our church a Miserere, with the discipline [i.e., scourging]; a spiritual book is read to those who are present, and at least once a week an exhortation is addressed to them.

Such is, in general, the distribution of work for our college at Manila in Lent, and therein are engaged nearly all the men in the college, whether priests or students; and in times when there is a scarcity of workers I have seen some helping at two or three posts, and not only ministers and instructors thus occupied, but even the superiors, and men of seventy years old, to the great edification of the community. At Lent is seen in Manila that which occurred at the destruction of Jericho, where, when the priests sounded around the city the trumpets of the jubilee, the walls immediately gave way and fell to the ground. Thus in Manila do the Jesuits surround the walls, calling to every class of people with the trumpets of the jubilee and offering pardon; and at the sound, through the grace and mercy of the Highest, the lofty walls of lawlessness, vice, and crime, fall in ruins. And even the presence of the ark is not lacking to this marvelous success, for it is not to be doubted that the Blessed Virgin, most merciful mother of sinners, aids us with her intercession. [Our author here relates various instances of miraculous aid from heaven, and other edifying cases.]

[Fol. 13:] Father Juan de Torres, with another priest and a brother, went from the college of Manila to conduct a mission at a place which is called Cabeza de Bondoc, [7] about sixty leguas from Manila, in the bishopric of Camarines--the bishop of Nueva Cazeres at that time being his illustrious Lordship Don Fray Diego de Guevara, of the Order of St. Augustine. As soon as that zealous prelate took possession of his see, he began to ask for fathers of the Society, in order that, commencing with the Indians who were already peaceable who reside in Nueva Cazeres, they might establish missions and continue their instructions in other villages which he intended to give them. But the Society, who always have showed due consideration to the other ministers in these islands, not attempting to dispossess them from their ministries--although not always have we found them respond in like spirit--thanked that illustrious prelate for his kindness, without accepting those ministries; and in order that he might see that [the cause of this action] was consideration for the ministers, and not the desire to escape from the labor, Ours consented to conduct a mission in Bondoc, the difficulty of which, and its results, are explained by that prelate in a letter which he wrote to Father Torres, in which he says: "I find that it is true, what was told to me in Manila, when I gave that mission-field to the Society, and I mention it with great consolation to myself; and that is, that it was the Holy Ghost who inspired me to give it--for I see the fruits which are steadily and evidently being gathered therein. For in so many ages it has been impossible to unite those villages, and the Indians in them were regarded as irreclaimable; and now in so short a time those villages have been united, and the Indians, [who were like] wild beasts, appear like gentle lambs. These are the works of God, who operates through the ministers of the Society--who with so much mildness, affection, and zeal are laboring for the welfare of those people." Great hardships were suffered by those of the Society in these missions, and for several years that ministry was cared for by Ours, until it was entrusted to the secular priests.

The mission of Bondoc gained such repute in the island of Marinduque, distant more than forty leguas from Manila, that its minister, who was a zealous cleric, wrote to the father rector at Manila asking him very humbly and urgently to send there a mission, from which he was expecting abundant fruit. So earnest were the entreaties of this fervent minister that a mission was sent to the said island; it had the results which were expected, and afterward the Society was commissioned with its administration. In nearly all the ministries of secular priests the Society was carrying on continual missions, at the petition of the ministers or at the instance of the bishops.... The Society was held in honor not only by the bishop of Camarines, but equally by his illustrious Lordship Don Fray Miguel Garzia Serrano, a son of the great Augustine and most worthy archbishop of Manila. That most zealous father Lorenzo Masonio preached to the negroes who are in this city and outside its walls, according to the custom of this province, which distributes the bread of the gospel doctrine to all classes of people and all nations. And that holy prelate deigned to go to our church, and, taking a wand in his hand, as the Jesuits are accustomed to do, he walked through the aisle of the church, asked questions, and explained the Christian doctrine to the slaves and negroes. The community experienced the greatest edification at seeing their pastor so worthily occupied in instructing his sheep, not heeding the outer color of their bodies, but looking only at their precious souls--for in the presence of God there is no distinction of persons.

[Fol. 22:] The island of Malindig--named thus on account of a high mountain that is in it, and which the Spaniards call Marinduque--is more than forty leguas from Manila, extends north and south, and is in the course which is taken by the galleons on the Nueva España trade-route. [8] There Ours carried on a mission with much gain, at the instance of its zealous pastor, who was a cleric; and in the year 1622 this island was transferred to the Society by his illustrious Lordship Don Fray Miguel Garzia Serrano, the archbishop of Manila, who was satisfied by the care with which the Society administers its charges, and desirous that his sheep should have the spiritual nourishment that is necessary for their souls--for it was exceedingly difficult for him always to find a secular priest to station there, on account of the distance from Manila, the difficulty of administering that charge, and the loneliness which one suffers there. The Society gladly overcame these difficulties for the sake of the spiritual fruit which could be gathered among those Indians; and our ministers, applying themselves to the cultivation [of that field], went about among those rugged mountains--from which they brought out some heathens, and others who were Christians, but who were living like heathen, without any spiritual direction. They baptized the heathens and instructed the Christians; and, in order that the results might be permanent, Ours gradually settled them in villages which they formed; there are three of these, Bovac, Santa Cruz, and Gasan, and formerly there was a visita in Mahanguin. The language spoken there is generally the Tagálog, although in various places there is a mixture of Visayan, and of some words peculiar to the island. God chose to prove those people by a sort of epidemic, of which many died; and the fathers not only gave them spiritual assistance, but provided the poor with food, and treated the sick. This trouble obliged them to resort for aid to the Empress of Heaven, to whom they offered a fiesta under the title of the Immaculate Conception, during the week before Christmas, with great devotion; and the Virgin responded to them by aiding them in their troubles and necessities.

[Fol. 27:] In Marinduque Ours labored very fervently to reduce the Christians to a Christian and civilized mode of life; and among them was abolished an abuse which was deeply rooted in that island--which was, that creditors employed their debtors almost as if they were slaves, without the debtor's service ever diminishing his debt. The wild Indians were reduced to settlement; among them were some persons who for thirty years had not received the sacraments of penance and communion. In the Pintados Islands there was now much longing for and attendance upon these holy sacraments, when their necessity and advantage had been explained to the natives.

[Fol. 29:] His illustrious Lordship Don Fray Miguel Garzia Serrano had so much affection for the Society, and so high an opinion of the zeal of its ministers, that he decided to entrust to it the parish of the port of Cavite. This, one may say, is a parish of all the nations, on account of the many peoples who resort to that port from the four quarters of the world; it was especially so then, when its commerce was more opulent, flourishing, and extensive [than now]. It did not seem expedient to the Society to accept this parish; but, in order to show their gratitude for the favor, and to coöperate by their labors with the zeal of that active prelate, they took upon themselves for several months the administration of that port, in which they gathered the fruit corresponding to the necessity--which, with so great a concourse of different peoples there, and the freedom from restraint which exists in this country, was very great. The metropolitan was well satisfied, and very grateful; and he insisted until the Society made itself responsible for the administration of one of the three visitas which the said parish has. This was a village on the shore of the river of Cavite, which on account of being older than the settlement at the port is called Cavite el Viejo [i.e., Old Cavite]; it afterward was located on the shore of the bay, about a legua from the said port--which, in order to distinguish it from this village, is called Cavite la Punta [i.e., Cavite on the Point], because it is on the point of the hook formed by the land; from this is derived the name Cavite, which means "a hook." The ministry [at Old Cavite] was then small, but difficult to administer, on account of the people being scattered, and far more because of the corruption of morals; for, lacking the presence of the pastor, and the wolves of the nations who come here from all parts for trade, being so near, it might better be called a herd of goats than a flock of sheep--this village being, as it were, the public brothel [lupanar] of that port; and there was hardly a house where this sort of commerce was not established. This was a matter which at the beginning gave the ministers much to do, but with invincible firmness they continued to correct this lawless licentiousness; and by explaining the doctrine, preaching, and aiding the people with the sacraments, they made Christians in morals those who before only seemed to be such in outward appearance and name. Ours continued to reclaim these people to the Christian life, and today this village is one of the most Christian and best instructed communities in all the islands; it has a beautiful and very capacious church of stone, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, and a handsome house [for the minister]. There are in this village, besides the Tagálogs (who are the natives), some Sangleys and many mestizos, who live in Binacayan, which is a sort of ward of the village.

[Fol. 31 b:] Ardently did the apostle of the Indias desire to go over to China for its conversion; but he died, like another Moses, in sight of the land which his desires promised to him. Since then, without looking for them, thousands of heathen Chinese have settled in these islands. As soon as the Society came to these shores, Ours applied themselves, in the best manner that they could, to the conversion and instruction of those people--and even more in recent times, on account of the Society possessing near Manila some agricultural lands, which the Chinese (or Sangleys, as they are commonly called) began to cultivate. Ours were unwilling to lose the opportunity of converting them to our holy faith, so various persons were actually baptized; and, to render this result more permanent, a minister was stationed there, belonging to this field, who catechised them, preached in their own language, baptized them, and administered the sacraments--with permission from the vice-patron, Don Juan Niño de Tabora, and from the archbishop, Don Fray Miguel Garzia Serrano--and it is called the village of Santa Cruz. Their language is very difficult; the words are all monosyllables, and the same word, according to its various intonations, has many and various significations; on this account not only patience and close study, but a correct ear, are required for learning this language. Don Juan Niño de Tabora was the godfather of the first Sangley who was baptized; the most distinguished persons in the city attended the ceremony; and this very solemn pomp had much influence on the Chinese (who are very material), so that, having formed a high idea of the Catholic religion, many of them embraced it. Some were baptized a little while before they died, leaving behind many tokens of their eternal felicity, through the concurrence of circumstances which were apparently directed by a very special providence.