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 L, 1764-1800

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
MCMVII

CONTENTS OF VOLUME L

Preface 9

Document of 1764-1800

Events in Filipinas, 1764-1800. [Compiled from Montero y
Vidal's Historia de Filipinas.] 23

Miscellaneous Documents, 1766-1771

Financial affairs of the islands, 1766. Francisco Leandro
de Viana; Manila, July 10, 1766. 77
Letter from Viana to Carlos III. F. L. de Viana; Manila,
May 1, 1767. 118
Anda's Memorial to the Spanish government. Simon de Anda
y Salazar; Madrid, April 12, 1768. 137
Ordinances of good government. [Compiled by Governors
Corcuera (1642), Cruzat y Góngora (1696), and Raón
(1768).] 191
Instructions to the secular clergy. Basilio Sancho de
Santa Justa y Rufina; Manila, October 25, 1771. 265
The expulsion of the Jesuits, 1768-69. [Compiled from
various sources.] 269
The council of 1771. [Letter by a Franciscan friar];
Manila, December 13, 1771. 317

Bibliographical Data. 323

ILLUSTRATIONS

Plan of the city of Manila and its environs and suburbs
on the other side of the river, by the pilot Francisco
Xavier Estorgo y Gallegos, 1770; photographic facsimile
from original MS. map (in colors) in Archivo general de
Indias, Sevilla 35
Plan of the present condition of Manila and its environs,
drawn by the engineer Feliciano Márquez, Manila, September
30, 1767; photographic facsimile from original MS. map
(in colors) in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 83
Map of the river of Cagayan, showing town sites along its
banks, 1720(?); drawn by Juan Luis de Acosta; photographic
facsimile from original MS map in Archivo general de
Indias, Sevilla 182, 183
Map of Manila Bay, port of Cavite, and Lake of Bay, showing
depths of various parts of the bay, drawn by the engineer
Feliciano Márquez, September 28, 1767; from original MS. map
(in colors) in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 201
Map of Guam, one of the Marianas Islands, in Concepción's
Historia general (Sampaloc, 1788-1792), vii, facing p. 145;
photographic facsimile from copy in library of Harvard
University 291

PREFACE

In this volume is a brief outline of events from the restoration of Manila by the English (1764) to 1800; and a group of documents relating to the more important topics in the first decade of that period. The condition of the islands and their people at that time is well described by the able and patriotic officials Viana and Anda; and the "ordinances of good government" are an important addition to our sources of information regarding the administration of justice in Filipinas. The most important event of that time was the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions, although its great significance in Europe was but feebly reflected in those remote colonies.

In a brief summary are noted the leading events in Filipinas from 1764 to 1800. Manila is restored to the Spanish authorities by the English on March 31, 1764; a few months before, Archbishop Rojo had died, in captivity. The brief term of the temporary governor, Torre, contains little that is noteworthy, outside of a controversy between the civil government and the religious orders, occasioned by the imprudent utterances of a Jesuit preacher. In July, 1765, arrives the new governor, José Raón, in whose term occurs the expulsion of the Jesuits from the islands, a matter treated more fully in a later document; he also publishes a revision of the laws compiled earlier by Arandia. The city of Manila first coins small copper money about this time. The old controversy regarding episcopal visitation of the regular curas is revived (1767) by Archbishop Santa Justa y Rufina, and it is complicated by Raón's attempt to enforce the royal rights of patronage; bitter controversies arise, and are carried to the Madrid court.

After the capture of Manila by the English, the Moros had renewed their piracies, and ravaged the entire archipelago, year after year--even entrenching themselves and opening a slave market on Mindoró Island. Later, an expedition is sent to drive them out of this stronghold, which is successful. In 1770, the patriot Anda returns to Filipinas as its governor; he brings suit against Raón and other officials for misconduct in office, which is proved against them; but they and their friends rouse bitter opposition against him, and hinder his labors for the country. Incited by reports of another English invasion, he strengthens the fortifications of Manila Bay. His appointment was unwelcome to the friars, and he makes official remonstrance against the abuses prevalent among them, and calls for corrections of these. Attempting to enforce the royal rights of patronage, all the orders save the Dominicans refuse to obey; but later royal orders (1776) make provision for more gradual secularization of the curacies in Filipinas, and somewhat modify the enforcement of the episcopal visitation--to secure which Santa Justa had convened a provincial council at Manila in 1771, which was afterward disapproved by the king. Difficulties arise with the Moros of Joló through the imprudence of an envoy sent thither by Anda, and through the military establishment made by the English on an islet near Joló. The Moros seize this fort by treachery (1775) and kill most of the Englishmen in it; this success emboldens the Moros to ravage the Spanish islands again. In the following year the king sends 50,000 pesos to Filipinas for building light vessels to follow up those pirates. The weight of Anda's official responsibility, and the constant attacks of his enemies, cause his death, October 30, 1776. He is succeeded by Basco y Vargas, an energetic, able, and conscientious officer. The auditors conspire against him, but he arrests them and ships them to Spain; he then devotes himself to the welfare of the country and the development of its resources. He makes all possible efforts to promote agriculture, industries, and commerce; founds the celebrated "Economic Society;" improves the schools, punishes highwaymen, reorganizes the army, and repairs the forts; visits the provinces in person, and informs himself of their condition; places the public revenues on a sound basis; and checks the Moro piracies for a time. Nevertheless, he is disliked and opposed by some of the citizens, and resigns his post as governor (1787); his temporary successor is Pedro Sarrio, who finds it necessary to allow the regular curas to resume their parish charges.

The next proprietary governor, Félix Berenguer de Marquina, assumes his office on July 1, 1788. After becoming acquainted with the condition of the islands, he sends to the home government proposals for the reforms which seem desirable for Filipinas. Various events in his term of office are related, but there is little in them of unusual importance. In 1793 he is succeeded by Aguilar. New alarms of another English invasion oblige him to give attention first to the defenses of Manila and the improvement of the army. In the last days of 1796, a powerful Spanish fleet, commanded by Álava, arrives at Manila, sent thither for the defense of the islands in the war with Great Britain, which began in that year. Sailing to attack the English trading-fleet from China, Álava encounters a fierce hurricane, which drives him back to Manila. Endeavoring to improve the navy of the islands, and to reorganize the arsenals, he encounters official corruption and other difficulties, and is involved in long controversies with Aguilar and the royal officials at Manila. In 1797, the Acapulco galleon is wrecked soon after leaving Cavite, through "its commander's complete ignorance of nautical affairs," occasioning heavy loss to the citizens of Manila. Álava is compelled, by the continual danger of an attack by the English, to remain near the city for its defense; but he does all in his power to protect its commerce and improve the administration of its navy, and finally returns to Spain in 1803. On August 8, 1806, Aguilar dies, having held his office longer than any other governor before or since.

A detailed statement of the financial affairs of the islands in 1766 is furnished by the royal fiscal at Manila, Francisco Leandro de Viana. He aims to show how the Philippines can be made self-supporting, and even more, by proper retrenchments of expense and by increasing the revenues of government through the abolition of certain privileges and exemptions, the establishment of various monopolies, and, if necessary, the increase of the tributes paid by the natives. This last item produces 250,000 pesos annually; but nearly all of this is paid out for "the spiritual administration" of the Indians, so that, according to Viana, "the religious orders profit by and receive almost all the proceeds from the tributes." Hence the need of the royal situado each year from Mexico, to pay the civil and military expenses of the government. Viana enumerates the other profits derived from the Indians by the religious who are charged with their spiritual care, and mentions numerous other sources of income which they possess. In short, "all the profit of the islands accrues to the ecclesiastical estate;" the royal treasury is heavily indebted, and cannot meet the enormous expenses; "the provinces are at the mercy of the Moros, and everything is in danger of total ruin, unless suitable remedies are applied in time."

For this purpose Viana advocates various retrenchments of expenses, especially of those now incurred for the support of the ecclesiastical estate in the islands. He recommends that the exemptions of certain Indian chiefs and church servants from tribute-paying be abolished; that the "barangays" be suppressed, and the native villages reduced to parishes; that changes and reforms be made in the dealings of the provincial alcaldes with the crown; that offices be not sold, but granted as rewards of merit; that certain royal imposts be increased; that some privileges be sold at auction; and that monopolies be established on playing-cards, cock-fighting, and tobacco, not only in Manila but throughout the provinces and islands--to all of which the monopolies on wine and buyo might profitably be extended, which "would produce for the royal treasury enormous sums." From all these sources, the royal treasury will obtain enough income "to maintain the islands with respectable forces, and to make good the expenses hitherto caused to the royal revenue," without the necessity of increasing the tribute paid by the natives. But, if this last expedient be deemed necessary, he shows what will be the proceeds from increasing the tribute from ten reals to two, three, and four pesos respectively. The fiscal Viana shows himself to be a capable and honest official; but he evidently must contend with forces and conditions--greed for gain, official corruption, fraud, negligence and waste--that cannot be overcome without entire reform and reorganization of the colonial administration. With all his ability, he nevertheless regards the native peoples, as so many other European officials have done, as legitimate subjects for reckless exploitation; but in the light of modern thought and investigation his proposed expedients seem both short-sighted and ruinous. In some cases they would be diabolical, if their author could have realized what their effects would be, as with the proposed extension of the vicious monopolies (gambling, and the use of tobacco and wine) throughout the islands. He himself says, "Even the boys and girls use the said tobacco before they are old enough to exercise their reason."

Another document of especial interest is a report by Viana (May 1, 1767) to the king and the Council of the Indias, apparently the final one sent by him as fiscal. The subjects which it chiefly discusses are, the necessity of rendering trade free between the Spaniards and the Indians in the provinces, and that of instructing the natives in the Spanish language. As it is, the Indians seldom understand that language, outside of Manila, and dare not use it in presence of the religious. The latter, Viana says, are absolute despots in the islands, and, to conceal this from the authorities, they keep the natives in ignorance of the Spanish language; and they allow no Spaniard to enter their villages except by special permission of the cura, and for the time of three days only. He complains of their insolence, greed for dominion, disregard of all laws that do not suit their convenience, intrigues to prevent the enforcement of law, and oppression of the natives. These evils are incurable so long as the present mode of secular government continues. The interests of the king and his exchequer, and the government of the provinces, are shamefully neglected; the governor is indolent and covetous, seeks his own profit, and leaves business affairs to his secretary--who in turn neglects those which do not yield him gain. Viana urges that the superintendency of the exchequer be separated from the governor's office, as a partial remedy for the disorder and neglect which it has suffered; also the surrender of civil government in the provinces to the sole charge of the Audiencia, and the reduction of all the natives into parishes. He describes the intrigues within the orders which attend the appointments therein to the parishes under their charge, and claims that the missions are in consequence rapidly decaying. He renews his complaint of the despotic rule practiced by the friar curas, over both natives and alcaldes; and declares that the only cure for this will be, to subject the curas to episcopal visitation. Viana closes by urging that better governors be sent to the islands.

Further light on the condition of the islands after the English invasion is furnished by a notable memorial to the Spanish government, written by the patriot Anda (April 12, 1768). Far the greater part of this is devoted to the abuses resulting from the arrogance and lawlessness of the friars, with Anda's recommendations for measures to counteract those abuses; and to his text we add the helpful annotations made thereon by Dr. Pardo de Tavera. The inadequate and defective education furnished by the Manila universities leads Anda to recommend that they be abolished, and replaced by a secular foundation. He complains of the tyranny exerted by the regulars over the secular clergy and over the Indians, their refusal to acknowledge the episcopal authority, their defiance of the secular government, their greed for gain (extorting all they can get from the Indians, although they receive large stipends and contributions from the government, and acquiring large estates, besides engaging in a lucrative trade), their persecutions of any Spaniards who attempt to visit or trade in the Indian villages, their protection of the infidel Chinese, their persistent neglect to teach the Spanish language to the Indians and their holding the latter in ignorance in order to retain their domination over them. The regulars also neglect their spiritual work, do nothing to check the vagrant life of many Indians, tyrannize over the alcaldes, and incite the Indians to hate the Spaniards. Anda urges that they be compelled to submit to episcopal visitation, to give up trade, to cease from meddling with all affairs of secular government, and to teach the Spanish language to the natives; and, if they prove contumacious, that they be expelled from the islands. At the end of the memorial, Anda touches on some other abuses which need correction: the choice of friars as bishops, the mismanagement of the royal storehouses, the undue expense of the Acapulco galleon, the failure to tax the production of gold, and the neglect to subdue the inland tribes of Luzón. He advocates the operation of the Philippine mines, revision of the commercial regulations, recoinage of money, reorganization of the colonial government, and more care in selecting the governors of the islands, with the grant to them of more power to correct abuses.

Of decided importance in this series are the ordinances of good government of Corcuera and Cruzat (with later additions), and those of Raón (revising those of Arandía, of 1768), which were intended for the guidance of alcaldes, corregidors, and other judicial officials. While in actual use they were never of the transcendental importance in executive, legislative, and judicial matters that might be imagined from their context, because they are for the most part merely a record on paper (especially those of Raón), and were almost entirely disregarded; yet they are valuable, as they show the Spanish treatment of natives, and reveal social and economic conditions. Although the source from which we translate and synopsize presents first the ordinances of Raón, we have preferred to follow the more chronological arrangement, and hence begin with those of Corcuera and Cruzat. The ordinances of Corcuera, which were formulated in 1642, are revised by Cruzat, because such revision is demanded by the changed conditions that have come with the lapse of time. The first thirty-eight are the more valuable portion of these first ordinances, and are the result of the revision of those of Corcuera. They are much more clear-cut than most of the remaining twenty-three ordinances, some of which are vague and full of loopholes. As a whole, these first sixty-one ordinances regulate the conduct of the alcaldes-mayor in their official and private life in all lines--moral, religious, judicial, economic, etc. From them one obtains almost a full glimpse of the life of the times; he sees the canker of graft which was working in and through everything; gains a knowledge of the Spanish treatment of their wards, the natives, from the different standpoints of government paternalism, and individual rapacity, half-contempt, and cruelty of subordinate officials and others; notes the corrective measures that were taken, often halting and inadequate; and above all, is conscious of that peculiar method of Spanish legislation which, while apparently giving subordinate officials a free hand, drew them back to the center by threats of the residencia. The ordinances of Raón are ninety-four in number, many of which are repetitions of the foregoing, while some contain amendments and additions, and some again, are new. There is, for instance, considerably more legislation relating to the ecclesiastical estate in these later ordinances, which touch upon certain abuses common among them in their treatment of the natives and in their relations with the government. Less drastic, in many ways, than those of Arandía (of which no known copy is extant), they are more drastic than those of Corcuera and Cruzat, in the treatment of both religious and natives. The scheme of government outlined in both sets of ordinances is a simple and in some ways effective one, but its effects were never fully seen, because of the almost total disregard of the measures contained therein.

In 1771, Archbishop de Santa Justa issued instructions to the secular clergy which forcibly indicate the need of many reforms among them, in both their official and their private conduct.

One of the most important events in the history of Filipinas was the expulsion of the Jesuit order therefrom in 1768, an account of which is here presented, prefaced by a brief statement of the expulsion of that order from Spain and its domains, and the causes of that measure; it proves to be the final stroke in the long conflict between the Spanish crown and the popes of Rome over the prerogatives of authority claimed by the former in ecclesiastical matters. The Jesuits had always upheld the principle of authority, as exercised by the Holy See, and were therefore opposed to the claims of the Spanish monarchs; moreover, the ideas of freedom brought from France in that period were already fermenting in Spain, and had great influence in the minds of Carlos III and his ministers; and they saw that the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions would remove the chief obstacles to their designs for governmental reforms and independence of papal interference. In Filipinas this expulsion does not proceed as desired by the Spanish court, with secrecy and promptness; the venal governor (Raón) warns the Jesuits of their fate, enabling them to make all preparations for their departure. Legal proceedings are therefore brought against Raón and his associates in their residencias, but some of them die before the suits are ended; and Anda, who instituted these by royal order, is nevertheless impeded in every way, and afterward sentenced to heavy fines, through the machinations of his enemies. A decree by the archbishop (November 1, 1769) censures the officious proceeding of an auditor, who seized and prohibited certain books hostile to the Jesuits.

A letter (December 13, 1771) from a Franciscan friar at Manila, relates various ecclesiastical disputes in connection with the diocesan council of 1771.

The Editors

April, 1907.

DOCUMENT OF 1764-1800

Events in Filipinas, 1764-1800. Compiled from Montero y Vidal.

Source: Compiled from Montero y Vidal's Historia de Filipinas, ii, pp. 66-70, 115-140, 229-382.

Translation: This is made by Emma Helen Blair.

EVENTS IN FILIPINAS, 1764-1800

Archbishop Rojo, ad interim governor of the islands at the time of the English attack on Manila, died on January 30, 1764, a prisoner in the hands of the conquerors. [1] A few days later, Anda received despatches from Spain notifying him of the treaty of peace made with England, and he immediately entered into negotiations with the English for the surrender of Manila, which was accomplished on March 31 following. There was a dispute over the question of who should succeed Rojo in the government of the islands, an honor which was certainly due to the patriot Anda, who was, however, opposed by some of the citizens; but this was settled by the arrival of Colonel Francisco de la Torre, appointed governor ad interim of the islands, to whom Anda surrendered his command on March 17. The revolts and other disturbances in the provinces, consequent on the English occupancy, and their suppression, are noted in VOL. XLIX; cf. Montero y Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, ii, chap. iii, and Ferrando, Hist. PP. dominicos, v, pp. 640-644, 651-740, for fuller accounts of these, and of the Chinese insurrection which then occurred. Ferrando makes (p. 739) the following interesting citation from an unnamed but "reliable" writer: "There died in this war some seventy Spaniards and two hundred and fifty natives, who, as good subjects, fought even unto death for their king. Before the insurrection there were in the province [of Pangasinan] 60,383 souls; and according to the computation which was made on May 13, 1766, there were in it only 33,456; consequently the loss for the entire province was 26,927 souls. Many of these inhabitants emigrated, others perished from their privations, and no small number were killed by the barbarians." [2] During Torre's temporary command the most important occurrence was a noisy controversy which was called forth by the imprudent and meddlesome utterances of a Jesuit preacher in Manila, Francisco Javier Puch, attacking government officials. [3] The governor with the aid of the fiscal Viana, attempted to secure the punishment or rebuke of Puch, but the Dominican theologians took sides against them with the Jesuits; [4] the dispute was carried to the court at Madrid, and produced long and bitter controversies and dissensions, and probably was one of the motives which influenced the king, some years later, to expel the Jesuits from his dominions.

On July 6, 1765, the new proprietary governor, José Raon, a military officer of high rank, relieved Torre; he appears to have been able but unscrupulous. [5] He is most conspicuous for his revision of the "Ordinances of good government" drawn up by Arandía (see post, pp. 191-264), the revision being dated February 26, 1768; and for the expulsion of the Jesuits from the islands (1768), in pursuance of the orders received from Madrid dated March 1, 1767--which matter is related in detail in the last document of this volume. In 1769 he also decreed the expulsion of the Chinese from Filipinas, although this was not fully enforced. Early in October, 1766, the French astronomer Le Gentil, whose Voyage (Paris, 1781) is a valuable contribution at once to science and to the history of Filipinas at that time, arrived at Manila, commissioned by the French government to make observations on the approaching transit of Venus. "On account of the scarcity of copper money in Manila, the senior regidor of the municipal council, Domingo Gómez de la Sierra, in 1766 [6] requested authorization to make the said coins, with the name of barrillas, because their shape was that of a parallelogram. The government complied with this request, ordaining that only [the amount of] 5,000 pesos should be coined, to be used only in Tondo and Cavite. From that time, the Indians gave the name barrilla to copper coins." "The municipal council again asked for authority to make the barrillas, for use in various provinces; and by royal decree of December 19, 1769, order was given to send from Mexico 6,000 pesos in cuartillos (that is, fourths of silver reals)--with the provision that the coin [previously] made should be gathered in, and that what should be necessary should be made with the royal arms, within the limits allowed to San Domingo, as appears in ley 8, tit. xxiv, [book iv,] of the Recopilación de Indias." In 1766 there were two very fierce eruptions of the volcano Mayón, in Albay, occurring on July 20 and October 23; in the second, vast quantities of water were ejected, forming rivers and torrents, which destroyed some villages and many lives, and ruined many homes and farms. [7]

On July 22, 1767, the new archbishop, Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa y Rufina, [8] took possession of the see of Manila, and immediately undertook to subject the regular curas to his diocesan visitation, thus reviving the Camacho controversy of 1697-1700 (see VOL. XLII, pp. 25-116) with the religious orders; but Santa Justa had the support of the civil authority, which had orders to enforce the royal rights of patronage. "The governor of the islands, on his side, communicated to the provincials of the religious orders rigorous commands that they must submit to the royal rights of patronage: that within a short time-limit they should present their lists of three names each [sus ternas] for appointments to all the curacies; and that in future they might not remove any religious from his post without informing the viceregal patron of the causes, whether public or private, for such action." The Dominican province, in a provincial council of August 5, 1767, yielded to the archbishop's claims, and during the following year he visited all the parishes administered by them; but some individuals refused to obey the council. The other orders obstinately resisted the episcopal visitation, declaring that they would abandon their curacies if it were enforced. Thereupon, the archbishop appointed secular priests to the vacant curacies, including those of the Parián, Binondo, and Bataan, which were in charge of the Dominicans. [9] As the number of Spanish priests was so small, the archbishop made up the deficiency by ordaining natives from the seminaries; but this measure caused great resentment among the regulars and their supporters, and Santa Justa himself was disappointed in its effects, as the native clergy were generally so unfit for the office of priest in both education and morals. [10] Complaints to the king were made by both the religious orders and the archbishop, filled with mutual accusations and recriminations; and Raon withdrew his support from the latter, ceasing to press the claims of the royal patronage--influenced thereto, according to Montero y Vidal, by the intrigues of the Jesuits, who were enemies to Santa Justa. The support given by the Dominicans to the Jesuits in the Puch affair was censured by the Dominican general (Fray Tomás de Bojadors), who punished the Philippine provincial, Fray Joaquín del Rosario, and two of his brethren by depriving them of office and recalling them to Madrid. They availed themselves of various technicalities to delay their return for a long time; but finally two of them were sent from Manila late in December, 1778. Fray Joaquín del Rosario (his companion having died on the voyage) was captured by the English, but afterward regained his liberty and proceeded to Madrid, where the dispute was finally settled in an amicable manner.

After the capture of Manila by the English, the Moros renewed their piratical incursions, the Spanish authorities being so burdened with the insurrections of the natives and the Chinese, the lack of revenues, and the general disturbance of the colony's affairs, that they could do nothing to curb the insolence of the Moros. Those cruel pirates therefore ravaged the entire archipelago, even capturing fishing-boats in Manila Bay; and everywhere the coast villages were destroyed or depopulated, and the native population kept in continual terror of this inhuman foe. Bishop Ezpeleta, while temporary governor, had disbanded the little fleet at Iligan commanded by the Jesuits Ducós, which had been some check on the enemy, but Governor Rojo reëstablished the Pintados fleet, with headquarters at Cebú; nevertheless, this could do little to restrain them. There was a general attack by the Joloans and Mindanaos, [11] well aided by the Tirones and Malanaos; and so insolent did they become that they captured two richly-laden champans on the Mariveles coast, and entrenched themselves at Mamburao, on Mindoro Island, and sold their Filipino captives to the Macasar traders who resorted thither. A small squadron was collected at Cavite, which conveyed over 1,200 men to attack this Moro fort; [12] after several days of skirmishing, the enemy fled, and the Spaniards seized their stronghold, finding therein sufficient rice and other property to more than pay the expenses of the expedition. Another Moro band, however, made amends for this loss by gaining possession of the fort at Cateel, with all its contents; but on going to besiege that at Tandag they were repulsed and defeated, leaving behind all their arms and supplies.

In 1767 Anda went to Madrid, where he was praised and richly rewarded for his brave conduct during the English invasion; and the king made him a member of the Council of Castilla. Later, the post of governor of Filipinas was offered to him; he several times refused the honor, but finally yielded to the urgent request of the government, and in July, 1770 made his entry into Manila, where he was received with unbounded enthusiasm. His instructions made it necessary for him to institute legal proceedings against his predecessor Raon, who was accused of having warned the Jesuits of their intended expulsion, and of having secreted important official documents. Raon was held a prisoner in his house, but died before the suit could be tried in court. In this suit were also included two auditors and the royal fiscal, and they and their friends attacked Anda bitterly, causing him numberless vexations in his efforts to fix on them the responsibility for misconduct in the affair of the Jesuit expulsion. It was reported in Spain that the English intended to make another attack on Manila; Anda therefore repaired the walls of the city [13] and constructed ships, and within eight months had built and equipped twelve armed vessels of various sizes, besides several smaller craft. Notwithstanding this enterprise, the public revenues were greatly increased during the first year, [14] and thus Anda was able to send several expeditions against the Moro pirates. An earthquake [15] occurred on the night of February 1, which fortunately did no great damage.

"The religious corporations, notwithstanding the support which they generally lent to Anda during the war with the English, regarded with displeasure his appointment as governor of Filipinas. That strict magistrate, obeying the dictates of his conscience (which some persons attribute, but without sufficient grounds, to feelings of personal revenge), had addressed to the king on April 12, 1768, an exposition which treated of 'the disorders which exist in Filipinas, and which ought to be corrected.' In this document he points out most serious abuses among the friars; in the university, which was in their charge; among the Jesuits; among the Chinese, protected by the friars, who preferred them before the Spaniards, driving away and expelling the latter from their villages; and he censures certain frauds and practices in the public administration in specified branches of the civil service. The seventy with which Anda laid bare those abuses drew upon him the hatred of the friars. [16] In this document he demanded a remedy for the disorders which he denounced, pointing out the method by which this might be effected, and declared that 'for the radical correction of these evils it is indispensable to draw up and introduce here a form of procedure which is clear, and capable of securing the just system which corresponds thereto, conferring upon the governor all the powers necessary for carrying it into execution, by those measures which prudence and the actual condition of affairs shall dictate to him.' He added: 'The choice of a zealous governor will materially contribute to laying the foundations of that great work; but it is necessary to reward him and give him authority, so that he can work to advantage, and without the hindrances which have often, by means of secret communications, cunning and disloyal maneuvers, and other malicious proceedings, frustrated the best and most carefully formed plans.' This exposition [17] by Anda was certainly taken into account, for in the 'royal private instructions' which were given to him when he was appointed governor of Filipinas we see that he was ordered to put an end to specified abuses and disorders, the king using the same terms which Anda had employed in describing those evils."

"The archbishop Santa Justa, a man of unparalleled firmness and energetic character, from the first moment assailed the new governor of Filipinas on the question of the diocesan visitation, to which the friars continued their opposition, and demanded his support in order to make it effectual. Anda, who regarded obedience to the laws as a rule of conduct, and who brought orders from the court to subject the regulars to the royal patronage, addressed an explicit communication to the superiors of all the religious institutes, requiring their obedience to the mandate of the sovereign, and assigning a definite term, which could not be prolonged, for the presentation of their lists of appointees, in order that the curacies might be filled in this manner. All the orders of regulars openly refused to yield obedience of this sort, excepting the Dominicans--who, more circumspect, and endeavoring to avoid the dangers which they foresaw in resistance, agreed to submit to this command--although many of the parish priests of the order soon were disobedient to this decision of their superiors."

The archbishop convened a provincial council at Manila, which held six sessions during the period May 19-November 24, 1771; various matters of ecclesiastical administration came before it, the chief of which was the diocesan visit. In the fifth session, the subjection of the parish priests to the diocesan visitation and the royal patronage was ordained; and at the final one it was ordered that the decrees of the council should immediately be promulgated, declaring that those of the council of Mexico (which Urban VIII had ordered to be observed in Filipinas) were not now binding. In the first session the bishop of Nueva Cáceres, Fray Antonio de Luna (a Franciscan), became involved in disputes over the appointment of secretaries, and was expelled from the assembly; he then retired to his diocese, and during the entire period of the council opposed its proceedings, with protests, legal formalities, and official edicts. Bishop Ezpeleta of Cebú died soon after the opening of the council, and the government of that diocese devolved upon Luna, but, it seems, not its representation in the council. A secretary of that body, Father Joaquín Traggia, was sent to Madrid as its agent and bearer of its despatches; but the king refused to accept his credentials, and ordered him to go to his convent at Zaragoza, forbidding him to return to Filipinas. (Toward the end of this council, the archbishop, in concert with his suffragans, drew up a tariff for the parochial fees to be collected by the curas.) The religious orders finally secured, through influence at the court, the revocation of the order given to Anda in regard to the regular curas, which had resulted in many of them being removed from the Indian villages and replaced by native priests; but no change was made in regard to the diocesan visitation. The bishop of Nueva Segovia, Fray Miguel Garcia, [18] claimed this right, and convened a diocesan council in 1773; the only result was, to arouse a hot controversy between Garcia and the Dominicans, to which order he belonged. That order also had a dispute with the archbishop over his attempt to visit the beaterio of Santa Catalina; but in 1779 the king decided that this institution should continue to enjoy its exemption from visitation.

"By royal decree of November 9, 1774, it was ordered that the curacies held by the regulars should be secularized as fast as they became vacant. Anda suspended the execution of this command, and wrote to the court, specifying the evils which would ensue from the secularization of the curacies which the archbishop desired; and in consequence of this and of the urgent appeals of the Franciscans, Augustinians, and Recollects, the king ordered by a decree of December 11, 1776, that what had been decided on this point in the decree of November 9, 1774, should not be put into execution, and that affairs should be restored to their former status and condition, and their curacies to the religious; that the regulations for his royal patronage and the ecclesiastical visitation should be observed, but that the latter might be made by the bishops in person, or by religious of the same order as those who should serve in the curacies, and without collecting visitation fees. The king also directed in the said decree that efforts should be made, by all possible means and methods, to form a large body of competent clerics, in order that, conformably to the royal decree of June 23, 1757, these might be installed in the vacant curacies, thus gradually establishing the secularization that had been decreed."

Anda took what precautions were available to restrain the Moro pirates, but great difficulties arose in his way. Ali-Mudin, whom the English had restored to his sway in Joló, and his son Israel (in whose favor the father had abdicated) were friendly to the Spaniards, with many of their dattos; but another faction, led by Zalicaya, the commander of the Joloan armadas, favored the English, who had established themselves (1762) on the islet of Balambangan [19] in the Joló archipelago, which they had induced Bantilan to grant them; and the English were accused of endeavoring to incite the Joloans against the Spaniards by intrigue and bribery. Anda decided to send an expedition to make protest to the English against their occupation of this island, as being part of the Spanish territory, and entrusted this mission to an Italian officer named Giovanni Cencelly, who was then in command of one of the infantry regiments stationed at Manila; the latter sailed from Zamboanga December 30, 1773, bearing careful instructions as to his mode of procedure, and to avoid any hostilities with the English and maintain friendship with the Joloans. But Cencelly seems to have been quite destitute of tact or judgment, and even of loyalty to his governor; for he disobeyed his instructions, angered the Joloans, [20] who could hardly be restrained by Ali-Mudin from massacring the Spaniards, and at the end of three weeks was obliged to return to Zamboanga. He was on bad terms with the commandant there (Raimundo Español), and refused to render him any account of his proceedings at Joló; and he even tried to stir up a sedition among the Spanish troops against Español. The English gladly availed themselves of this unfortunate affair to strengthen their own position in Joló, stirring up the islanders against Spain and erecting new forts. Later, however, the English at Balambangan showed so much harshness and contempt for the Moro dattos (even putting one in the pillory) that the latter plotted to surprise and kill the intruders; and on March 5, 1775, this was accomplished, the English being all slain except the commandant and five others, who managed to escape to their ship in the harbor. The fort was seized by the Moros, who thus acquired great quantities of military supplies, arms, money, and food, with several vessels. [21] Among this spoil were forty-five cannons and $24,000 in silver. Elated by this success, Tenteng, the chief mover of the enterprise, tried to secure Zamboanga by similar means; but the new commandant there, Juan Bayot, was on his guard, and the Moros were baffled. Tenteng then went to Cebú, where he committed horrible ravages; and other raids of this sort were committed, the Spaniards being unable to check them for a long time. A letter written to the king by Anda in 1773 had asked for money to construct light armed vessels, and a royal order of January 27, 1776, commanded that 50,000 pesos be sent to Filipinas for this purpose. This money was employed by Anda's temporary successor, Pedro Sarrio, in the construction of a squadron of vintas, "vessels which, on account of their swiftness and exceedingly light draft, were more suitable for the pursuit of the pirates than the very heavy galleys; they were, besides, to carry pilots of the royal fleet to reconnoiter the coasts, draw plans of the ports, indicate the shoals and reefs, take soundings in the sea, etc."

Notwithstanding the great services which Anda had rendered to his king and country, his enemies succeeded in procuring from the Spanish government the revocation of the sentences which had been pronounced in the suits brought by Anda (at the instance of that very government, and as its representative) against Raon and other corrupt officials; and Anda was condemned (by decrees in 1775-76) to pay the costs in these suits, and the further sums of four thousand pesos to the heirs of Raon and two thousand to the former fiscal, Juan Antonio Cosío. These unexpected and heavy blows, added to the strain of his official responsibilities and the annoyances caused by the attacks of his personal enemies, broke down Anda's health; and he died at the hospital of San Felipe, Cavite, on October 30, 1776, at the, age of sixty-six years. [22]

Sultan Israel of Joló was poisoned by the followers of his cousin Ali-Mudin, son of Bantilan, who therefore assumed the government (early in 1778); immediately the Moros renewed their raids on the Spanish provinces nearest them, and the expeditions sent against them by Sarrio could do little to punish them.

In July, 1778, the new proprietary governor arrived at Manila; this was José de Basco y Vargas, an officer in the Spanish royal navy. The officials of the Audiencia forthwith sent a remonstrance to the court, against their being subordinated to a man whose rank "gave him only the right to be addressed as 'you' while each one of the magistrates [of the Audiencia] enjoyed the title of 'Lordship,'" and they asked for the revocation of Basco's appointment: but of course this was refused, and they were rebuked for their officiousness. As a result, the auditors opposed all that Basco attempted, and even conspired to seize his person and put Sarrio in his place. That officer, however, refused to join them, and informed the governor of the scheme; in consequence, Basco arrested the recalcitrant auditors and other persons connected with their plans (including Cencelly), and sent them all to Spain. [23] Now free from hindrances, he devoted himself to the administration of the government, the welfare of the country, and the development of its resources.

"In a document entitled 'A general economic plan,' he extolled the advantages which are inherent in the promotion and development of agriculture, commerce, and industries. He offered therein to bestow rewards and distinctions on the persons who should excel in agriculture, in making plantations of cotton, of mulberry trees, and of the choicer spices, as cloves, cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg; to those who should establish manufactures of silk, porcelain, and fabrics of hemp, flax, [24] and cotton like those that were received from the Coromandel Coast, Malabar, and China; to those who would undertake to work the mines of gold, iron, copper, and tin; to those who should make discoveries useful to the State; and to those who should excel in sciences, the liberal arts, and mechanics. He also circulated instructions in regard to the method of cultivating and preparing for use cotton, silk, sugar, etc. He also, in Camarines, compelled the planting of more than four millions of mulberry trees, which for several years yielded an excellent product; but these important plantations were abandoned after his term of office [expired]. [25] He improved the schools, and aided the diffusion of knowledge by promoting the knowledge of the Castilian language. In order to repress the boldness of the murderous highwaymen who infested the roads in the provinces nearest to Manila, he appointed judges with power of condemnation [jueces de acordada [26]]; these, accompanied by a counsellor and an executioner, by summary process tried the malefactors whom they arrested in their respective districts, and applied the penalty--a measure so efficacious that in a short time there was complete security everywhere. The Audiencia appealed against this measure, and the king issued a decree notifying the governor to abstain from meddling in the jurisdiction of that court. In acknowledging the receipt of this sovereign command, Basco remarked that 'unfortunately it had arrived too late.' As war had been again declared between España and Inglaterra, Basco caused the fortifications of Manila and Cavite, and the forts in the provinces, to be repaired, changing a great part of the artillery therein for new pieces. He also reorganized the army. In 1778 the order for the expulsion of the Chinese was revoked, and a considerable number of them returned to Manila.

A royal decree of November 15, 1777, recommended the establishment of an institution in which vagrants and dissolute persons might be shut up. Accordingly, Manuel del Castillo y Negrete, minister of justice for the Philippines, drew up and printed (Sampaloc, 1779) a manual of ordinances for the management of a general refuge for poor persons, beggars, women of lewd life, abandoned children, and orphans. For this project he had obtained the opinions of learned persons, all of whom extolled it; and he sent this document to the king. Besides promoting all interests of morality, and the development of agriculture, industry, and commerce, Basco founded the noted "Economic Society of Friends of the Country." [27] A royal decree dated August 27, 1780, had ordered him to convene all the learned or competent persons in the colony, "in order to form an association of selected persons, capable of producing useful ideas;" but when this decree arrived, Basco had already founded the above society. On February 7, 1781, the active members of the general tribunal [junta] of commerce had assembled, and agreed upon the constitution of the society, a number of them signing their names as its members--among them the Marqués de Villamediana, the prior of the consulate of commerce. "The body of merchants endowed the society with a permanent fund of 960 pesos a year, the value of two toneladas which were assigned to it in the lading of the Acapulco galleon." The society was formally inaugurated on May 6, 1781, under the presidency of Basco, who made an eloquent address. Its first president was the quartermaster-general of the islands, Ciríaco González Carvajal; according to its first regulations, it contained the following sections: natural history, agriculture and rural economy, factories and manufactures, internal and foreign commerce, industries, and popular education. "Stimulated by Basco, the society undertook with great ardor to promote the cultivation of indigo, cotton, cinnamon, and pepper, and the silk industry, according to the orders published by the superior authority. The parish priest of Tambóbong, Fray Matías Octavio, taught his parishioners to prepare the indigo, presenting to the society the first specimens, which were adjudged to be of superior quality. In 1784, the first shipment of this article to Europa was made in the royal fragata 'Asunción.' The society also recommended that effort be made to attain perfection in weaving and dyeing. (The society declined greatly after the departure of its founder; and Aguilar roughly opposed it. In 1809 it was extinguished; two years later, orders were received for its reëstablishment, but this was not accomplished until 1819. In the following year, its constitution was remodeled; and in 1821 it founded at its own cost a professorship of agriculture and an academy of design, and established special instruction in dyeing. In 1824 it resolved to bestow rewards on the most successful farmers; and it introduced from China martins, to fight the locusts that were desolating the fields. In 1828 its constitution experienced another revision; but during more than half a century it gave hardly any sign of its existence. It had a flash of vitality in 1882, but soon fell again into a decline. To-day [about 1893] there is hardly any indication that Manila remembers a society of this sort; and, as it is not in the Guía de forasteros ["Guide for strangers"], it may be said that it has ceased to exist.)

"Filipinas had been, until the arrival of the illustrious Basco y Vargas in the country, a heavy burden on the capital, since every year the situado was sent in cash from México to meet the obligations of the islands. In order to free España from this sort of load, and to raise the country from its depressed condition, he conceived the vast project of stimulating the cultivation of tobacco, by establishing a government monopoly of it. [28] He communicated his plan to the Spanish government; and by a royal order of February 9, 1780, the monopoly of tobacco, similar to that which was in force in the other dominions of the nation, was decreed. He immediately published two proclamations, on December 13 and 25 respectively, in 1781, prohibiting the sale, traffic, and manufacture of tobacco; and on February 16, 1782, he issued (signed and sealed by himself), 'Instructions which are given to all the commanders or heads of the patrols, the provincial administrators, the market inspectors, and other persons who are under obligation to prevent loss to the revenue from tobacco.' These were directed to the prevention of smuggling, showing the way in which investigations should be conducted--including the houses of parish priests, the convents, colleges, and beaterios, the quarters of the soldiers, etc. He created a board of direction for this revenue, a general office of administration or agency, and subordinate offices to this in the provinces. Basco's idea was strongly opposed by various interests; but the governor's energy was able to conquer this unjust opposition, and the monopoly was organized on March 1, 1782; it constituted the basis of the prosperity of the exchequer in that country, and its most important source of revenue.

"The zealous governor visited the provinces in person, in order to inform himself of their needs and to remedy these, compelling their governors and other functionaries to fulfil their trusts as they should. He also organized various military expeditions to occupy the Igorrot country."

From the first, Basco did what he could to restrain the incursions of the Moro pirates; but he had many difficulties to encounter. He repaired the forts in Mindanao and the Visayan Islands; he built small vessels, and stationed them in Cebú, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and Calamianes, from which points they could more promptly set out to punish the Moros; and he sent an expedition to Mamburao, in Mindoro, which drove out the pirates who, as we have already seen, had established themselves there. These raids being thus checked for the time, trade began to improve; "and from Sámar alone, whose traffic with Manila had been paralyzed for more than ten years, forty-three caracoas went to the capital in 1779." The sultan of Joló humbly asked Basco for peace, and returned to the Spaniards a small vessel captured near Antique by one of his dattos, "an unusual proceeding among the pirates." The natives of Bulacan voluntarily offered (December, 1781) to pay for the cost of two vessels to sail against the pirates, and imposed on themselves for this purpose a tax of one-half a real a year on each tribute; this proving insufficient, they increased it, in the summer of 1784, with a ganta of unhulled rice per tribute. This example was immediately followed by the natives of Pampanga. In 1782, the Visayas were invaded by a Mindanao host; but on several occasions the Spaniards succeeded in defeating the pirates and sinking many of their boats. Basco conquered the Batanes Islands, north of Luzon, [29] and this enterprise for a time diverted his military forces from the Moros, who consequently increased their depredations on the Visayan natives and carried away many captives from Calamianes, Panay, and Negros.