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                                   AN
                            HISTORICAL VIEW
                                 OF THE
                          PHILIPPINE ISLANDS:

                               EXHIBITING
                 THEIR DISCOVERY, POPULATION, LANGUAGE,
                     GOVERNMENT, MANNERS, CUSTOMS,
                       PRODUCTIONS AND COMMERCE.


                          FROM THE SPANISH OF
                          Martinez de Zuñiga.


                       PUBLISHED AT MANILA, 1803.

                            IN TWO VOLUMES.

                                  WITH
                 A NEW AND ACCURATE MAP OF THE ISLANDS,
             FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.


                               TRANSLATED
                          BY JOHN MAVER, ESQ.



                                VOL. II.

                                LONDON:
            PRINTED FOR J. ASPERNE, CORNHILL; AND NONAVILLE
                       AND FELL, NEW BOND-STREET:
                      By T. Davison, Whitefriars.

                                 1814.







CHAPTER I.

ANNO DOM. 1669.

    The Administration of Don Manuel de Leon.


Don Manuel de Leon, the new Governor of these islands, took possession
on the 24th of September, 1669. The first act of his government was
to declare that Señor Bonifaz, who had been Governor ad interim, had
not been duly authorized, and though he confiscated his goods, he did
not succeed in his attempt to imprison him, as the moment he gave up
his government, he retired to the convent of the Franciscans. The
Governor found the commerce of Manila at a very low ebb, as there
were only two ships which sailed from the island, one from Cavite, and
another from Lampon, and there was very little doing in the commerce
with China. To remedy this, he sent to Macao Captain Losada and the
Jesuit Mesina to revive it, and by the prudence of these two, and
the disinterestedness of the Governor, such an extended commercial
intercourse took place not only with China, but with the adjacent
coasts, that these islands were filled with goods, which was of course
highly beneficial to the royal coffers. On the 11th of April, 1677,
the Governor, while at the nuptial ceremony of the Oidor Coloma,
was taken suddenly ill in the church, and being removed to a house
on the river side close by, he expired the same day.







CHAPTER II.

ANNO DOM. 1678.

    The Administration of Don Juan de Vargas.


Don Juan de Vargas took possession of his government the 21st
of September, 1678, and began his administration with universal
applause; but in a little time the passion of avarice effected a
thorough transformation of his character: disputes between the civil
and ecclesiastical authorities alone engaged the public attention
during the whole period of his government.







CHAPTER III.

ANNO DOM. 1684.

    The Administration of Don Gabriel de Curuzalegui.


Don Gabriel de Curuzalegui took possession of his government the
24th of August, 1684, and by his judgment and prudence, put an end
to these disgraceful dissensions.

On the 27th of April, 1689, the Governor died, and was interred in
the church of St. Augustine. He was a quiet and inoffensive man,
and although he leaned too much to the side of the Archbishop in the
ecclesiastical disputes which had occurred for some years previous,
yet the court approved his conduct. On the 22d of December, the same
year, the Archbishop died. Señor Abella succeeded to the Government
ad interim, and during his Administration the Marquis of Villasierra,
Don Fernando Valenzuela, terminated a political life as remarkable
as any on record for the versatility of fortune which distinguished
it. This nobleman was known by the name of Sylph, because he took the
opportunity of one night entering the palace at Madrid, in a private
manner, and relating to the Queen mother what was passing at court,
by which means he gained her confidence, and became prime minister and
grandee of Spain. Don Juan of Austria having persuaded his natural
brother, Charles the Second, to send the Queen mother from Court,
he ordered her to retire to Toledo; and by this fall of the Queen,
Villasierra lost his popularity, was imprisoned, stripped of all his
honours, and banished to the Philippines, 1679, where he was imprisoned
in the fort of Cavite, and remained there till 1688, in which Don
Juan of Austria died, and the Queen was restored to the favour of
her son. On this occasion Villasierra was liberated; and after living
some little time on charity near Manila, he embarked for New Spain,
where (in Mexico) he died by the kick of a horse. Strange reverse of
fortune this man had suffered! From the highest station in the court of
Madrid, he was sunk to that of nearly absolute want. At Madrid he had
filled the highest dignities, and most important political situations:
he was banished to the Philippines, confined many years in a dungeon,
restored again to his rank, and died as above related.







CHAPTER IV.

ANNO DOM. 1690.

    The Administration of Don Fausto Cruzat y Gongora.


Don Fausto Cruzat y Gongora, of a distinguished family in Pampeluna,
took possession of his government in 1690, with the accustomed pomp on
these occasions. On his arrival, he found that the royal establishments
were very badly administered, the superintending officers paying
more attention to their own individual interests than to those of
his Majesty, whose control was too remote to produce any salutary
check on their proceedings. He set immediately about collecting the
arrears of the annual tribute remaining due to the King, with which
he re-built the Governor's palace, enlarged the hall of the Royal
Audience, and the offices of the auditors. Under these he established
the respective prisons, and begun the royal store-houses.

In the year 1692, the ship Santo Christo de Burgos arrived, sailed the
following year, and was never more heard of. In 1694, the galleon San
Joseph, richly laden, was wrecked on the island of Luban in a severe
storm, in which the ship, cargo, and four hundred people were lost.

In the Marianas, the Indians, with the soldiers of the fort, and
the galley-slaves which came in the admiral's ship which was wrecked
there, all rose in rebellion. They had determined to murder all the
Spaniards that were in the islands, and take possession of them; and
which they would have executed, had not one of their party discovered
the conspiracy, when a stop was effectually put to it by the valour
and conduct of the Spaniards and friars. The Indians were compelled
to confine themselves to the islands of Guajan, Rota, and Saypan,
all of which have been since deserted.

From 1690 to 1701, ecclesiastical disputes solely occupied the public
attention.







CHAPTER V.

ANNO DOM. 1701.

    The Administration of Don Domingo Zabalburu.


Don Domingo Zabalburu took possession of his government on the 8th
of September, 1701. He finished the royal magazines which had been
begun by his predecessor, re-built the redoubt of San Antonio Abad,
and repaired the fortification of Cavite, the inhabitants of Manila
contributing with their accustomed generosity by presents for the
purpose. At this time the Kings of Jolo and Mindanao had a serious
misunderstanding, each requesting assistance from the Governor,
which, however, he declined, knowing that by taking part with one,
he exposed these islands to the enmity of the other. He sent the
Jesuit Antonio de Borga to reestablish harmony between these two
nations upon any justifiable ground, as war had been declared by
Spain against the English and Dutch, and it was deemed necessary to
maintain a respectable maritime force to defend these islands, and
in particular to protect our galleons, exposed as they were in their
voyage from New Spain, to be captured by the ships of these nations,
as happened with the Rosario, which was attacked by two English ships
among the islands of Nativity and Salagur, in December, 1704; but she
compelled them to fly, and she pursued her voyage to Acapulco. The
following year the galleon San Xaviar was wrecked, which was severely
felt in Manila.







CHAPTER VI.

ANNO DOM. 1709.

    The Administration of the Conde de Lizarraga.


Don Martin de Ursua y Arismendi Conde de Lizarraga took possession
of his government on the 25th of August, 1709. His first care was to
send out of the islands all those Chinese who had been hitherto in the
habit of remaining annually after the departure of the junks, to the
great prejudice of the Spaniards. The safety of the state required
this step, and all were expelled except those who were mechanics,
or in the service of the public. The indulgence granted to these,
was ascribed to the advantage the Governor derived from the licences
he issued for that purpose. This step taken by the Governor was of
great service to the country, as the Chinese came into it on the
pretext of cultivating the land, and on this ground were allowed to
remain; but it was soon found that they were even less active than
the Indians, and that for one who applied himself to agriculture,
a thousand were dealers of different descriptions, and in this they
were extremely expert. They adulterated the weights and measures,
as well as the different articles of sugar, wax, and almost every
other commodity, so as not to be easily discovered. They were all
monopolizers, watching narrowly the wants of the inhabitants, and the
demand for different articles of consumption, which they kept back
until they rose to their price. All this they had long practised with
impunity, as, by virtue of presents duly applied, they were able to
secure powerful protectors; and although sometimes they were fined,
they took care that, even on the very day the fine was exacted, they
should be reimbursed by the advanced price they fixed on the very
goods in question. By this means they became rich in a short time, and
either remitting their money to China, or returning with it themselves,
they thus defrauded the Philippines annually of immense wealth [1].

The Jesuits of Manila, in 1696, had made an attempt to reduce the
islands of Palaos, or Pelew, which were understood to consist of
thirty-two in number, and to be very populous; but it was not till
1710 that they were enabled to make good a landing on them, when a
patache, sent by the Governor, at last effected this desirable end.

These islanders appeared so friendly, that the pilot who had been
sent on shore with an Indian to discover a good landing-place, was
persuaded to go up the country to the chief, who receiving him with
cordiality, the favourable report he made to the fathers determined
them immediately to land and plant the cross. They accordingly departed
in the launch, accompanied by twelve of the people, with an intention
of returning to the ship as soon as the object was effected; but the
pilot, after making repeated signals, having protracted his stay until
the setting in of the periodical hurricanes, was compelled to abandon
the mission in this state of uncertainty, and return to Manila; since
which time nothing has been heard of the Jesuits or the Spaniards who
accompanied them. Two ships, indeed, have been sent in search of them,
but one was lost, and the other failed in her attempt to reach the
Palaos, the only result of her voyage being the discovery of a few
insignificant islands.

In the year 1710, three English ships arrived on the coast of
California, and our squadron on that station having been separated,
were attacked singly by them. The admiral, whose captain was a
Frenchman, struck without opposition. The other ship, Nuestra Señora de
Begoña, Captain Francisco de Angulo, being deficient of his complement
of men, and even those in a sickly state, after a gallant resistance,
was compelled to retire. Our loss on this occasion was eight killed
and eight wounded. Our galleon mounted twenty-four guns and twenty
patereros, and the largest English ship thirty-six; the second
twenty-four, and the third twenty-two guns. The King, irritated by
this disgraceful loss, severely censured the Viceroy for his imprudence
in confiding a Spanish ship of war to the command of a stranger.

On the 4th of February, 1715, deeply regretted by all, after an
administration of five years, died the Conde de Lizarraga, and the
Oidor Torralba succeeded him ad interim. He rendered himself extremely
useful to the colony in casting artillery, and in other public works;
but he had the misfortune to be on very indifferent terms with his
colleagues in office. Señor Pavon, who had been divested of his
office by the concurrence of the Royal Audience, in the views of
Señor Torralba, appealed to his Sovereign, who acquitted him, and
permitted him to return to his office. The royal order to this effect
arrived during the governorship, ad interim, of Señor Torralba, who
refused to put it into execution, and so persecuted Señor Pavon, that
he compelled him to take refuge in the convent of St. Augustine. He
likewise proceeded, in a most hostile manner, against the Oidor Villa,
on a most ridiculous pretext.







CHAPTER VII.

ANNO DOM. 1717.

    The Administration of Don Fernando Bustamante, commonly called
    the Marshal.


The Field-Marshal Don Fernando Bustamante Bustillo y Rueda, late
alcalde mayor of Tlascala, in New Spain, took possession of his
government on the 9th of August, 1717. He was a man who knew how
to make himself obeyed, and the more difficulties he encountered,
the more did his resolution impel him to meet them with effect. He
began by issuing some strong decrees, and others still more severe
were expected. These were principally directed to the recovery of
above two hundred thousand dollars, which he found were due to the
royal treasury by different people, both by those in office, and
generally by the public. These parties finding he was determined on the
measure, began to murmur at his proceedings. Without, however, allowing
himself to be influenced by any consideration of this nature, he laid
an embargo on all the silver that came in the galleon from Acapulco,
and required from the public functionaries correct statements of their
accounts with the royal treasury. By an examination of those names
which appeared as owners of the silver, he found it an easy matter
to cover all those debts, and by this dexterous management recovered
about three hundred thousand dollars to the treasury. Many of those,
however, then indebted to the government, having died, or being reduced
to poverty, their securities of course became responsible, and this
extended the consequences of his measures to so many in Manila, that
he became an object of general hatred, particularly as he went so
far as to punish delinquencies by confining individuals as prisoners
in their office, and by seizing their property. He ordered the late
secretary of Torralba to give an account of what had been received for
licences granted to the Chinese, and as this was not complied with,
he seized all his effects, and committed him to prison, practising
many other acts of severity too numerous to mention.

Although these islands had been many years at peace with the Kings of
Jolo and Mindanao, yet several pirates of those kingdoms continued to
infest our coasts, and yet no redress could be had from the respective
Sovereigns, who frankly acknowledged their inability to prevent such
irregularities. With a view to correct these abuses, the Governor
was desirous of re-establishing the station of Zamboanga, which,
in the time of Don Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, had been abandoned
through apprehension of the Chinese pirate Cogseng, who had at that
time threatened these islands.

This matter was brought before a select committee of the royal works,
who decided, by ten against seven, that the station should not be
re-established; among other reasons alleging, that it was of no
service against the Moors, and that it was supported at the heavy
annual expense of twenty-five thousand dollars, answering no other
purpose than that of enriching the Governor, whose appointment was
from Manila, and for a term of three years. In opposition to the
decision of this committee, however, the Governor ordered the works
to be re-constructed. This further exasperated the public against him.

The Franciscans having requested the Governor to place a garrison in
Labo, in the island of Paragua, to protect them from the Moors, he
consented to it, and accordingly erected a fort at much less expense
than that of Zamboanga, though as little tending to the public benefit.

Don Fernando Bustamante, not satisfied with urging the Spaniards to
cultivate commercial connections with the other kingdoms of Asia, was
desirous of establishing one with the kingdom of Siam in particular,
to whose King he sent a nephew of his own, bearing magnificent
presents. He arrived in safety, was received well, and entertained
splendidly. He delivered his credentials and presents to the King,
and concluded a treaty of friendship, by which the Spaniards were
allowed to establish a factory in that kingdom.

By virtue of this treaty, a ship from Siam arrived at Manila with
goods, but the Governor treated the Siamese so ill, that they returned
discontented, and by this conduct the whole cost of the embassy
was thrown away. The Spaniards severely censured this extraordinary
conduct of the Governor, some attributing it to the caprice of his
disposition, while others feeling less inclination to smother their
sentiments, asserted boldly that the public interests of the monarchy,
and of these islands, had no influence with him, unless they accorded
with his own individual views of interest, or with the gratification
of his passion for ostentation.

A charge was made by the King's fiscal against Señor Torralba,
for property which had disappeared during the time he held the chief
authority, the amount of which, according to his own account, was seven
hundred thousand dollars. It was understood that his son had effected
his escape with considerable property, and that his wife, with his
younger sons, had embarked in the ship for Acapulco, at the close of
his government. The royal fiscal requested that the property might
be attached which his wife had taken with her, and that the person of
Torralba might be secured. The Governor, in compliance with this, and
always very zealous for the royal revenue, imprisoned him in the fort
of Santiago. At this period the decision of the court arrived, by which
Señor Villa was acquitted, and Señor Torralba fined in twenty thousand
dollars, with orders to give security for twenty thousand more. His
inability to comply with the terms of his sentence, put it in the
Governor's power to indulge his antipathy against public delinquents,
by loading him with fetters, and treating him with the greatest rigour.

These proceedings of the Governor were sufficient to expose him to the
hatred of all. It is certain that a little before his death, a royal
order arrived, in which the Archbishop was charged to place the Royal
Audience on the same footing as before, and the chief Oidor had liberty
to suspend the Governor from his office, if it was found necessary.

Having despatched the ship for Acapulco, under the command of Don
Domingo Nebra, with letters in justification of his conduct, and
suspecting that private letters had been forwarded by the same vessel,
complaining of him to the government, he sent directions to stop the
vessel, but she sailed immediately on the arrival of the officers
despatched for that purpose, without paying any regard to the orders
for her detention.

The Governor, who was not of a disposition to permit himself to
be insulted with impunity, ordered three ships which were lying in
the port of Cavite to be prepared, and gave the command of them to
Don Fernando de Angulo, for the purpose of pursuing the galleon,
and bringing her back to Manila; and in case this force should not
be able to overtake her, he at the same time despatched a patache,
in which he sent his nephew, Don Alexandro Bustamente, to New Spain,
to give information of what had passed. This was unquestionably a
necessary measure on the part of the merchants, as the royal officers
had retired to St. Augustine, without having furnished a correct
register of the different goods on board, and they had reason to fear
that on their arrival at Acapulco they would be seized.

The Governor was given to understand that Angulo would not attack
the galleon even with his three ships, as he was one of those who had
entered into the conspiracy against him, when it was determined that
the Chinese should be murdered. All, in short, were become heartily
disgusted with his tyranny, and were ripe for rebellion, though few
had concerted any regular plan for the purpose. The Governor, whose
destiny led him to the edge of the precipice, instead of tranquillizing
the minds of the public by resorting to prudent measures, began to
commit still greater enormities. This alarmed the Señor Villa, who was
the only Oidor that remained, and who had been appointed Fiscal. It
appeared clear that the Governor's conduct would produce some dismal
catastrophe, and, unable to oppose it, fearing likewise that his own
life was insecure, he took shelter in the convent of the Augustines.

On the retirement of the Señor Villa, the Royal Audience was
annihilated, as Señor Torralba was in prison by order of the King,
and the Governor would not permit the Señor Pavon to return to his
office again; the former fiscal was dead, and the Señors Velasco and
Torribio, the honorary Oidors and law professors, had had all their
property confiscated, and had been imprisoned. The annihilation of the
Royal Audience was a misfortune both to the inhabitants of Manila, and
likewise to the Governor, as it was the means of giving validity, in
the name of the King, to his atrocities. He consulted Señor Torralba,
and agreed that he should be released from his dungeon, and confined in
the hall of the Royal Audience, where the functions of this respectable
tribunal were exercised by one individual, of notorious character,
who had been deservedly disgraced, and was a prisoner by order of his
Majesty. Under this authority the Governor began to imprison those
whom he chose to consider as obnoxious to him, none being exempt but
those who had taken refuge in the churches, which were by this means
filled with the first people of Manila and its neighbourhood. A notary
public, among others, had retired to the cathedral; his effects were
immediately seized, and, upon examination, his register of sales,
contracts, &c. was missing from his office. The ordinary Alcalde who
seized his effects consulted the Governor upon this circumstance,
and stated, that although he had taken refuge in a sanctuary, yet,
legally, he ought to be compelled to deliver up the register. The
Governor submitted it to the decision of the Royal Audience, which
being composed of Señor Torralba solely, he immediately despatched
an order, to which the royal seal was affixed, addressed to the
Archbishop, in which he was directed to enter the cathedral, and
deliver up to justice the notary public, who had taken refuge there.

Señor Cuesta, who did not wish to have an unavailing dispute, consulted
the two universities upon the point, and they unanimously gave it as
their opinion, that Señor Torralba could neither give due authority to
royal orders, nor could the archbishop direct the royal jurisdiction,
even if duly authenticated, to be exercised within the church. He
forwarded to the Governor these opinions, with a view to justify
himself in declining obedience to the order which had been issued by
Señor Torralba. This reply was forwarded by the Governor to the Royal
Audience, and it occasioned the issue of another order still more
severe, in which the archbishop was treated with little ceremony,
and threatened to be compelled, by force, to obey, and no longer
shelter himself behind a consultation with the two universities. The
archbishop, convinced that Señor Torralba was the principal instigator
of these unhappy disputes, with less prudence than the circumstances
of the times required, issued a process against this violator of
ecclesiastical sanctuary, and excommunicated him. This was the grand
error he committed, and from which melancholy consequences resulted;
for having sent two of the clergy to intimate to him the sentence of
excommunication, Torralba, on observing them approach, went to meet
them, and snatched from them the paper containing it. Immediately
afterwards appeared a publication from him, accusing the clergy of an
intention to take away his life, and suborned witnesses: having, on
examination, confirmed this charge, the Governor was induced to commit
to prison the Archbishop, and several of the clergy and religious
orders, with such other persons as had taken refuge in the churches.

Before, however, this order was put in force, a proclamation was
issued, requiring all the inhabitants in the vicinity to assemble in
the office of the royal auditor, in aid of the civil power; and that
on the signal of the discharge of a cannon, with ball, they should
all repair to the palace. When the time arrived to put the scheme in
execution, the artillery was levelled against the city, and the gates
leading into the square, and the fort of Santiago being secured, and
ammunition distributed to the guards appointed there, the signal gun
agreed on was fired, and all in the vicinity repairing to the palace,
they were detained there.

Having thus made his dispositions, the Governor ordered the Archbishop,
with all the ecclesiastical Cabildo, the Commissary of the Inquisition,
the heads of the religious orders, and various other clergy, to
be seized. By these arrests and preparations, consternation was
spread over the whole city; nothing was seen but knives at people's
throats, and it was said that it was the intention of the Governor
to decapitate all the Spaniards, and escape to the coast of Mexico
with their property. Even this extravagant charge was credited, as he
was known to be a man who respected no tribunal, and who had violated
the sanctuary of the churches, by dragging from thence those who had
taken refuge there, committing them to prison, not even excepting
the ecclesiastics. Despair alone produced a tumultuous assemblage of
the inhabitants, but without any premeditated plan, nor is it an easy
matter now to discover how the disturbances began.

The religious of the different orders were seen in procession along the
streets with crucifixes in their hands, accompanied by people of all
classes, particularly those who had taken refuge in the churches, and
who had not yet been seized, calling out, "Long live the true faith,
long live the church, and long live our King, Philip the Fifth!"--They
arrived in this manner at the church of St. Augustine, where the chief
people of Manila, who had taken refuge there, joined them, and being
provided with arms, they followed the procession to the palace. A page
intimated to the Governor that the friars were in procession along
the streets, and he immediately gave directions to put a stop to it,
though he was ignorant of its meaning, and only presumed there was
some tumult. On observing them from the window, however, and being
convinced of their mutinous intention, he despatched positive orders to
the fort to fire the artillery on the city; but although the Governor
of the fort was his son, his humanity, or his disobedience was such,
that he only fired two, and those so ill pointed, that the shot did
not take effect.

Meantime the immense concourse of inhabitants arrived at the palace
without opposition, when the guard, either overawed, or conniving at
the measure, permitted them to pass unmolested, and the crowd ascended
the staircase. The halberdiers, who were on guard in the anti-room,
made no resistance, nor did even one individual attempt to defend the
palace except the Governor, who rushing out alone, fired his fusee, and
with his drawn sword attacked the crowd. A friar endeavoured to accost
him, but he called out, "Leave me, father, unless you wish to murder
me," and making a cut with his sabre, he wounded a citizen. Upon this
a general attack was made on him, when his arm being broke, and his
head severely wounded, he fell apparently dead. His son, the Governor
of the fort, observing from thence that the tumult had reached the
palace with every alarming appearance, he mounted a horse in order to
assist his father, and entered the palace sword in hand, but he was
overpowered, and wounded so severely that he died the same evening. A
Jesuit friar approached the Governor, to ascertain if he still lived,
when the dying man said, in a faint voice, "Father, do not abandon me
until the last moment of my life, which I have well deserved to lose,
on account of my misconduct." He very devoutly confessed himself,
and some of the mutineers seeing that he was still likely to live,
carried him into an adjoining apartment, and put him in a hammock,
with a view to convey him to a dungeon in the court prison, when,
in his passage out, he was met by a slave of the chief auditor's,
Don Vincente Lucea, who gave him two mortal stabs with a knife. The
father and son were both placed in the chapel of the prison, and the
dean sent for surgical assistance, but in the mean time, between five
and six in the evening, they both died, having received their wounds
between twelve and one in the course of the day.

The mutineers proceeded to the prisons, set at liberty the inhabitants
of Manila confined there, and placed in their stead the Oidor
Torralba and Doctor Correa, who had officiated as fiscal during these
disturbances, and likewise as secretary to the Governor.

The Governor being dead, the ordinary alcalde assumed the reins of
government in the civil department, and Don Fernando Bustamente,
the son of the late Governor, who had that day lost his life in
assisting his father, notwithstanding this succeeded nominally to
the military department. The arrangement was every way invalid, as
his Majesty had determined, by repeated royal edicts, that on the
death of the Governor, the Royal Audience should be invested with
the reins of Government. This tribunal, however, had been of late
merely a shadow, as it had been composed of Señor Torralba solely,
who was a prisoner by his Majesty's order. The principal people
of the city not knowing on whom to bestow the chief magistracy,
went to the fort of Santiago, where the archbishop was confined,
and requested that he would assume the government. He, however,
declined it, on the plea that he was not authorized; but upon their
pressing his acceptance of it, he left the fort, and passing by the
palace of the Governor, the people attempted to force him to enter
and take possession of it, but he resisted, and proceeded on to the
archiepiscopal palace. He ordered two notaries public to examine the
body of the Governor, who reported that he was dead, and upon this
report the principal people in Manila again assembled, and resolved,
that under all the circumstances, it was incumbent on the archbishop
to assume the direction of public affairs. The archbishop was at last
prevailed on to assent, but before taking the customary oaths, he
thought it prudent to make the declaration, that what he did was not
from any wish to prejudice the right which any person might have to
the government through the appointment of his Majesty. The ceremony
ended with the citizens doing him the same homage as was usual on
the appointment of regular Governors.

The day following he summoned a council, at which, in conjunction
with those who had assisted him the day before, were present the
Oidor Villa, who had left Manila and had retired to Guadalupe, and the
honorary Oidors, Velasco and Torribio, whom the insurgents had released
from confinement. The Señor Villa was acknowledged in this assembly as
legitimate Oidor, and as such he renounced the right which the laws
gave him of holding the reins of government, and recognized, on the
day following, in the hall of the Royal Audience, the archbishop,
as his legitimate President and Governor, delivering up to him the
keys of the secret archives. The Royal Audience being thus formed,
it was agreed that in consequence of the want of regular Oidors,
the honorary members, Velasco and Torribio, should be added to their
number, as there were many suits pending which required immediate
adjudication. Velasco and Torribio were not desirous of taking this
situation without being duly authorized by the King; but finding that
it was the unanimous opinion of all who had attended at the meeting
held for the purpose, they at last agreed to it. Finally, Señor Pavon
was restored to his office of Oidor, agreeable to the order of the
King, and he likewise ceded his right to the Governor, though there was
afterwards a dispute between Señor Villa and him respecting precedency
as the oldest Oidor, and which dispute the archbishop decided.

There never appeared less confusion at an insurrection than on the
present occasion, every individual seeming satisfied with his lot in
being relieved from unjust oppression and violence. The archbishop,
who had assumed the reins of government, was the only person whose mind
was not at ease; but in a short time he was restored to tranquillity by
the arrival of a royal order, enjoining him to suspend the Governor
from his office, and imprison him; replace the Royal Audience on
the same footing as before; set at liberty the Señor Velasco, and
assume the reins of government himself, which was exactly what had
been effected by the late disturbance.

The archbishop had neither forgotten the dead bodies of the
Governor and his son, nor his orphan family; he buried the former
with all the pomp and solemnity which Governors were accustomed to
receive. Bustamente left six sons; the oldest was appointed guardian
to the others, and they were allowed one thousand dollars per annum
for their maintenance. They afterwards requested permission to proceed
to New Spain; but his excellency would not grant it, until the elder
brother paid into the royal treasury the expenses of the voyage,
and agreed to conduct all his brothers to Mexico, where they had
rich relations, who would receive them into their protection, and
educate them.

The death of the marshal took place on the 11th of October, 1719,
within a little more than two years after he assumed the government.

The public mind being at length tranquillized, the Oidor Velasco was
commissioned to enquire into the circumstances relating to the death of
the Governor and that of his son. He examined seventeen of the first
characters in the city, who had taken no part in this disturbance,
and their evidence tended to confirm what we have above related. He
afterwards took the depositions of those in the service of Bustamente,
who all declared against the conduct of their master. He even summoned
before the judge some scholars, whom he accused of having published
libels on the late Governor; but they justified themselves, and
were acquitted.

He likewise proceeded to examine Señor Torralba, Doctor Correa,
secretary to the government, and another counsellor, who served
as fiscal ad interim; who threw the whole blame on the Governor
Bustamente, representing him as a perfect devil, under whom they
were in constant apprehension of their lives, and urging in their
defence that the confusion was so great, they were ignorant of what
was passing, and knew not who were or were not imprisoned. Lastly,
the depositions of the Governor's body guard was taken, of whom,
however, no information could be procured, they declaring that they
were so confounded at the multitude of people assembled on the occasion
that they knew nothing of what passed. The utmost they heard was,
that those inhabitants of Manila who had taken refuge in the church
of St. Augustine had united with the friars, and were coming in a
body to the palace, but who committed the murders they were totally
ignorant of. The Oidor Velasco now gave orders, that all those who had
taken refuge in the convent of St. Augustine should be imprisoned in
their own houses: when, however, this was known throughout the city,
such consternation prevailed, that Velasco revoked his decree, and
delivered in his report with all diligence to the Royal Audience,
who, without proceeding any further with the examinations into this
business, ordered that a minute of it, as it then stood, should be
forwarded to his Majesty. This wise proceeding tranquillized the minds
of the inhabitants of Manila, who had felt exceedingly alarmed during
the progress of the enquiry.

The archbishop governed these islands for the space of two years with
much prudence, and gave great satisfaction to the public, preserving
in Manila the utmost harmony among all the different classes of
inhabitants, and making due preparations against the Moors, who shewed
a disposition to attack the garrisons which had been established to
keep them in check. That of Zamboanga was an object of much jealousy
to the Moors of Mindanao; and Dulasi, King of Butuy, sent a powerful
armament to attempt to get possession of it by assault; they were
repulsed by the Spaniards, but although severely handled, they did
not desist from the enterprize.

The Kings of Jolo and Mindanao sent out their fleets for the avowed
purpose of relieving the Spanish force in Zamboanga, but the Governor
of that fort, doubtful of their intentions, would not admit them into
the place, nor make use of them in any shape. Their design upon this
became evident, as they immediately joined Dulasi, and they lay with
their three squadrons for some time in view of the fort, watching
a fit opportunity to possess themselves of it. Finding, however,
that the Spaniards were constantly on the watch, and despairing of
compelling the fort to surrender, they dispersed their vessels through
the islands, committing great excesses, and making many prisoners in
every quarter. They, as usual, burnt many towns and villages, robbed
many churches, and in Calamianes murdered a Franciscan friar. The
archbishop called a council of war on this occasion, when it was
resolved that the fort of Zamboanga should be abandoned, as likewise
that of Labo, which the marshal had erected in the island of Parava,
and that their garrisons should be sent to augment that of Taytay,
which was deemed sufficient to protect the whole of Calamianes.







CHAPTER VIII.

ANNO DOM. 1721.

    The Administration of the Marquis de Torre Campo.


Before the death of the marshal was known at Madrid, the information
which had been received of his extortions and despotism had induced
his Majesty to nominate as Governor Don Torribio Cosio, Marquis de
Torre Campo, late Governor of Guatimala, who took possession of his
government on the 6th day of August, 1721. Many charges were preferred
against the former Governor, and many of his friends were looked
upon as his accomplices. Some of them, however, denied the charge,
and others asserted that they acquiesced in his measures in order to
save themselves from his violence, and to secure their property. Don
Esteban Iñigo, among other charges, was accused of monopolizing the
rice, which had been the occasion of a great famine in the islands; but
he replied that he had been compelled to enter into this speculation
by the Governor, and acceded to it as the only means of saving the
rice, as well as the whole of his own property.

When the marshal's death was known in Madrid, a royal order was
forwarded to the Governor to bring to justice those suspected of
being his accomplices. The marquis, on this occasion, consulted the
Franciscan Friar Totanes, his confessor, and the college of Jesuits,
as to the conduct he should observe. After considerable discussion,
it was resolved to suspend all further enquiries, and communicate to
his Majesty the proceedings which had already taken place, and the
advice which he had taken, thus putting an end, for the present, to
these distressing enquiries. The archbishop at this time was removed
from his chair, and translated to the bishopric of Mechoacan, as
a punishment for his having coincided with the marshal's measures,
and for having, without due authority, assumed the baton of office
after his death. He died on the 30th of May, 1724, a few days after
having taken possession of his bishopric.

The islands would have enjoyed peace and tranquillity under the new
Governor, had not the Moors still continued their depredations on the
provinces of the Bisayas, and which the marquis sent a squadron to
repress, but this, like every preceding attempt, had failed of success.

Don Juan Gainza, to whom was imputed the murder of the son of the
Governor, embarked for Acapulco, accompanied by Don Diego Salazar,
who was the companion of Lucea, the supposed assassin of the Marshal
Bustamente. When the relatives of Don Fernando Bustamente heard of the
arrival of these men at Acapulco, they petitioned the Viceroy for their
imprisonment; and on this application an order was forwarded to the
Governor of Acapulco to proceed against them. He accordingly took the
depositions of the people in the ship, and as little could be proved
against them by this means, he sent them prisoners to Mexico. Here a
very circumstantial account of the deaths of the marshal and his son
was produced against them, in which it was urged that these two were
accomplices in the murder. This account was not deemed sufficient
to authenticate further proceedings, although a son of the deceased
Governor swore, that a similar statement of the transaction had been
given in Manila, by the father-in-law of this same Don Diego Salazar,
agreeing in every point with this of Don Alexandro Bustamente; the
nephew of the deceased Governor swore to the truth of his having heard
the same story; and likewise the marshal's confident, Diego Muzarabe,
confirmed it with the declaration, that although in Manila he had
declared against his master, yet that it had been through fear of
his own life, and that he was influenced by that consideration, when
he stated simply, that the refugees in the church of St. Augustine
had only approached the palace in a tumultuous manner, from which
had resulted the fatal catastrophe. Luis Pardo Santizo Piñeiro's
declaration was nearly to the same effect; and although the truth of
the majority of these depositions was strongly suspected, yet their
oaths, in the mean time, were admitted as a matter of necessity
against the supposed criminals.

Don Juan Gainza requested that they might be sent back to Manila to
take their trial, and the Viceroy finding the case full of difficulty,
forwarded the whole of the documents to his Majesty, putting Don Juan
Gainza in confinement until the determination of the King should be
known. This in due time arrived, and the Viceroy was instructed to
remand the parties to Manila, to take their trials along with the
others accused of the crime in question.

The council of the Indies, who had taken the account of the
examinations on the murders of the Governor and his son, agreed with
the Royal Audience in remaining apparently satisfied with them; but a
royal order having been forwarded to the Marquis de Torre Campo to sift
the business to the bottom, and punish the offenders, this Governor,
having no desire to enter further into such unavailing processes,
consulted the Friar Totanes and the Jesuits, who had before given
him their assistance. The friar on this occasion exaggerated the loss
of property sustained by the inhabitants of Manila, and by the pious
establishments: he represented the severe pressure arising from the
absolute scarcity of rice, on which account, it was said, many had
died of hunger. He alleged that the marshal had been the cause of all
this; that his violent proceedings had been the means of producing a
strong sensation among all ranks, and converting the conduct of the
citizens into a measure of self-defence, having no other alternative
for alleviating the miseries they were exposed to than by deposing
him from his office. To what tribunal, it was well urged by the friar,
could they cite him to answer for his conduct? The Royal Audience was
abolished; the archbishop and clergy in prison; and the government
of the city had been committed to an ordinary alcalde, who was the
Governor's nephew, and two regidores, his creatures. There being,
therefore, no tribunal to which he was amenable, they had determined
on confining him, as the most eligible mode of terminating their
miseries; and in this justifiable attempt to save their own lives
and properties, his resistance produced a mortal wound. More ought,
therefore, to be attributed to the marshal's violent and imprudent
conduct, than to the inhabitants of Manila.

This language, which in fact amounted nearly to sedition, was
represented to the King as the sentiments of all the clergy of the
Philippines, but it was an attempt to asperse their reputation, as the
Friar Totanes had no authority in this respect; and in fact most of
the clergy, with the Jesuits, had no hesitation in expressing their
disapprobation of the conduct of the citizens of Manila, although
they allowed that the extraordinary circumstances of the case,
rendered them deserving of the royal indulgence.

In this business all the accused remained unpunished except the
archbishop, who had the least share in the disturbances. He, however,
was punished severely; that worthy prelate, who in imitation of Christ,
bore on his shoulders the sins of his people. Señor Torralba, whose
cavillings added fuel to the flame of this tumult, was imprisoned in
the fort of Santiago. The marquis tried him by a special commission,
by the sentence of which he was fined an immense sum, deprived of his
office, and condemned to perpetual banishment from Madrid and Manila,
allowing him, however, to return to Spain, after he had paid the first
one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. During the remaining period
of his imprisonment, he was in a very bad state of health, and when
liberated he was in such misery, that he was reduced to the necessity
of begging, to avoid dying of hunger. After his death, he was interred
as a common pauper in the church of San Juan de Dios. The severity of
this lesson is sufficient to impress on us the necessity of a correct
and upright conduct, and it is hoped it will not, in this respect,
be thrown away.

In the year 1718, his Majesty sent to Manila three professors; the
Señor Velasco, professor of laws, with a salary of eight hundred
dollars per annum, with the rank of Oidor; and at the end of seven
years to be promoted to be Alcalde del Crimen at Mexico. The Señor
Toribio was likewise to have the rank of honorary Oidor, and to
have five hundred dollars per annum, as la Cathedra de Instituto,
and at the end of seven years he was to be promoted to be Oidor of
Guatimala. The professor of canon law was Doctor Osio, who received
eight hundred dollars per annum, and was to be promoted to be
prebendary of Mexico. Señor Velasco being soon after removed to the
Royal Audience of Mexico, the Governor directed that there should be
only two professors, because their stipends were chargeable on the
vacant bishoprics, and had been paid as an advance (by way of loan)
from the treasury at Manila, by which about forty thousand dollars had
been paid to them by way of salary, of rent of houses for their public
lectures and other matters, and only nine thousand had been received in
reimbursement from the Viceroy of Mexico, who had declined remitting
more without a special order from court. Despatches were forwarded to
his Majesty; and in the mean time the Governor placed the professors
in the college of St. Philip, but the other professors opposing it,
the archbishop removed them to that of the Jesuits, where, out of
mere disrespect of Señor Osio, the Friar Murillo taught the canon
law until the year 1730, when a royal mandate arrived, by which the
professors were suspended, and indeed, very little benefit had accrued
to the public from them.

About this time the Emperor of China, who had permitted the exercise
of the Christian religion in his dominions, died. His successor,
however, proscribed it altogether, banishing the missionaries from
the empire, and permitting the residence of a few Jesuits only,
who were teachers of mathematics at Pekin. The Pope, desirous of
propagating the knowledge of our faith throughout all Asia, sent two
barefooted Carmelite friars in quality of ambassadors to the Chinese
court. According to eastern custom, they introduced the object of
their mission by presents to the Emperor; but the only advantage
which resulted from it was, a permission for some missionaries to
remain in China.

Since this period, some of that valuable class have contrived,
clandestinely, to reside in that country, and to this day continue
to preach the gospel; yet their sufferings are frequent and very
severe, being at times thrown into prison and banished the kingdom,
where, however, in a short time they find means to return, by bribing
the mandarins with money, the grand engine which governs this vast
empire. The prohibition above alluded to extended to the tributary
kingdom of Tonquin, where the missionaries suffered still more,
for in escaping from the hands of the Governors of the different
provinces, they fell into those of the freebooters, who robbed and
ill treated them.

The King of Jolo sent a Chinese as ambassador to Manila to treat for
peace; his excellency received him favourably, and Don Miguel Aragon
was in consequence despatched to Jolo with ample powers to establish
a permanent alliance with that prince. An alliance was entered into,
but its duration was very short; the natives of Jolo, naturally
fickle and turbulent, joining with those of Mindanao in the usual
predatory excursions against our islands, in which they were guilty
of the customary excesses.

The inhabitants of Manila, on this occasion, subscribed a handsome
sum to fit out a small squadron for the purpose of repressing
these marauders. It proceeded against the Moors, and eventually
compelled them to sue for peace, but not before they had done us very
considerable injury.

The galleon Santo Christo de Burgos, in her voyage to Acapulco,
was stranded on the island of Ticao; upon which occasion, on the
frivolous pretext of being prevented, by the offensive smell of the
cargo, from opening the hatches, with a view to save the property,
the ship was set fire to with the intention, there was reason to think,
on the part of her commander and merchants, of attempting to embezzle,
for their own use, some of the merchandize during the conflagration;
but finding this impracticable, the ship and her valuable cargo were
totally abandoned to the flames. This stratagem has been frequently
resorted to by the merchants of the Philippines, and it will often
be successful, so long as it remains undecided how the loss ought to
be borne in cases of that nature. The pious establishments are the
assurers, according to the terms of the instruments or deeds, made
between them and the respective adventurers, who borrow money of them
for the purpose of embarking in this trade; but these instruments,
expressing the lender's risk to be total loss only, the borrowers, to
prevent any thing from being saved, so as to leave room for litigation,
as to whether the loss was total or partial, set fire to the vessel,
to place it beyond all dispute. In such cases the loss of the ship,
I conceive, should be borne generally; whatever is saved should be
divided among the parties, according to the property they had on board,
and which might easily be ascertained, by examining the manifest with
the original deeds [2].







CHAPTER IX.

ANNO DOM. 1729.

    The Administration of Don Fernando Valdes y Tamon.


Don Fernando Valdes y Tamon took possession of his government on the
14th of August, 1729. He found Manila totally destitute of military
stores; the losses sustained by ships, the reinforcing the different
garrisons, and the armaments against the Moors, having occasioned
a great diminution in the stores of cannon and small arms, both
of which it became necessary to purchase from foreigners, as the
foundery at Manila was not capable of supplying the deficiency. He
made arrangements accordingly for procuring the necessary supply
from the Peninsula of Asia, and from Batavia, taking care that the
arms should be always kept in good order, a task, however necessary,
yet extremely difficult in so humid an atmosphere. Indeed he in
all respects proved himself an expert military man, by the several
fortifications he constructed, the walls with which he surrounded
the city, the out-works he formed for its better security, and the
new establishment he erected for the manufacture of gunpowder.

He determined to chastise the audacity of the Moors, who were, as
usual, infesting the provinces and coasts of Bisayas, and he sent
against them an armament which succeeded in burning their towns and
villages: but this was by no means doing them any essential injury;
they had little to lose, and in return they laid waste nearly the
whole of the Spanish possessions with fire and sword. However much
Señor Tamon was desirous of repressing the depredations of these
pirates, he found it impossible, the low ebb of the treasury opposing
a sufficient bar to his fitting out such a force as might answer any
other purpose than that of a temporary check on their ravages.

The Governor's resources being thus too much limited to enable him to
make the necessary exertions against the Moors, he called a council
of the principal inhabitants of Manila, in which it was resolved,
that it was absolutely requisite for the public safety that a number
of different armaments should be fitted out; that forts should be
erected along the coasts, and points of communication and rallying
established between the towns; and that, in aid of the royal funds,
a contribution of five hundred dollars should be imposed on each
town. Some of the religious establishments had found it necessary
to adopt the expedient of erecting works round the different
churches, where the Indians might take refuge from the inroads of
the Moors. Others constructed watchtowers on elevated situations,
with a view to discover the enemy, and give the necessary alarm,
taking due care to visit them during the night, to ascertain that the
centinels were sufficiently vigilant, thus discharging the twofold
duty of pastors and military officers. By this arrangement, even no
fishing town was without its small fort or station for its protection.

The royal funds, however, contributed in no respect to this desirable
object; the public was indebted for it solely to the friars, who,
from their slender stipends, made the necessary disbursements to the
superintendants of the works and for the pay of the soldiers; and
succeeded, by persuasion and threats, in inducing the towns to furnish
materials and workmen, expending much money, and exercising great
perseverance, in order to complete the necessary means of defence.

No sooner did the alcaldes mayores see these military posts put into
an effective state, than they determined to take them under their
own control; and an officer is now annually sent for that purpose to
each station, with orders to draft a certain number of natives for its
service. The officer regularly keeps these men at work on his own farm,
or obliges them to purchase, with money, an exemption from this labour,
leaving, generally speaking, the post completely abandoned. This is
every way a severe hardship on the adjacent inhabitants, and proves the
truth of Señor Solorzano's observation, that whatever is done with a
view to benefit the Indians, by some means or other is converted to
their prejudice.

The conquest of the islands of Carolinas and Palaos having been
suspended from the time of the Conde de Lizarraga, began again to
attract the notice of government [3]. There had arrived at the Marianas
two vessels out of four, which in passing from one of the Carolinas to
a neighbouring island, had met with a gale of wind, and were driven on
our coasts, without knowing what had become of their companions. The
Governor of Marianas determined to take these Indians to their own
country, having in view, at the same time, a more accurate examination
of the islands in question. Accompanied by the Jesuit Cantova, he
accordingly proceeded on his voyage of discovery with these vessels;
but being unable even to find the islands, he pursued his voyage to
Manila, where he persuaded the Governor to accede to his undertaking
this object. In the year 1730 he returned to the Marianas with the
permission he had solicited, and reiterated his attempt, in company
with the Jesuit Friars Cantova and Victor, eleven soldiers, and eight
seamen, taking with him as a guide an Indian of Palao, who had been
baptized, and who, they presumed, would be able to conduct them in
safety to their destination. They discovered the island of Moymoy,
and erected a military station in that of Talalap, where they built a
church and a house, baptized some children, and instructed some adults
in the first duties of religion, by which they were vain enough to
believe that the conquest was completed, and they began to think of
despatching the vessel for additional aid, to enable them to subdue
the remainder of the islands. The Friar Cantova, with some soldiers,
took up their residence there, while Friar Victor with the remainder,
and some of the islanders, who had expressed a wish to accompany them,
sailed on their return to the Marianas, but not being able to make
them, bore away to Manila, where one of the Indians was baptized,
the Governor standing godfather. The Friar Victor embarked in a
patache, with the necessary succours, to his companions; but arriving
at Talalap, he found that the church and the house of Friar Cantova
had disappeared, and from one of the natives he understood that the
whole party had been murdered. Convinced of the difficulty attending
the subjection of these islands, he returned to Manila, and since
that period no similar attempt has been made.

Under this Governor was terminated the discussion which had subsisted
between the Chamber of Commerce of Seville and the merchants of Manila,
the subject having occupied the public attention many years. The
merchants of Seville argued, that the galleon ought not to carry
silk from Manila to New Spain, in either its raw or wrought state;
and that the commerce of the Philippines with that country ought to be
restricted to cotton goods, flag-stones, wax, and spices; and even to
this they insisted on the propriety of limits being placed, on account
of the great injury arising to the mother country from the trade. The
consequence of these discussions was a royal decree, which granted
to the merchants of Seville the full extent of what they required;
but the Viceroy of Mexico, to whom the decree was forwarded, would not
put it in force, representing, in his justification, that the commerce
of the Philippines was absolutely necessary to the kingdom of Mexico,
as the duties levied upon that commerce fully repaid the expenses of
the public establishments requisite for these islands as a colony; and
as he had just then received intelligence, that the island of Luzon
had suffered most severely not only from the locusts, but from the
violent and injudicious conduct of the then Governor (the marshal),
he did not conceive he would act correctly in putting the order into
execution. Upon this representation being laid before the council, it
was resolved, that the Philippines should have two galleons in future,
and that the merchants there should be permitted annually to ship in
them for New Spain, to the value of three hundred thousand dollars, in
goods of every description, wrought silks and gold embroidery excepted,
both which were prohibited. As a return cargo, they were permitted
to carry back double that amount in silver, and the residue of their
profits to be invested in merchandize, or in produce of New Spain.

The merchants of Manila again petitioned his Majesty on the subject,
and, in compliance with their request, he permitted them to take
wrought silk to Acapulco; but on a second representation from the
merchants of Seville, stating the heavy loss these concessions would
create, the Viceroy of Mexico was finally instructed, that for five
years the trade should remain on its old footing, except that the
merchants of Manila should not be allowed to send wrought silk to
New Spain.

The Viceroy of Mexico had sent this royal order to Señor Tamon,
the then Governor of Manila, and when it was communicated to the
merchants, various meetings were held, and it was resolved that no
alteration in the shipments should take place, and that it should
be given out that the royal order had not arrived in due time to be
promulgated, previous to the arrangements which had been made for the
usual shipments. In short, great consternation prevailed. The Governor
did not interpose his authority against the general sentiments, but
intimated his apprehension that the Viceroy would seize the goods
on their arrival at Acapulco. During this agitation of the public
mind the galleon arrived, bringing the order from Madrid, which is
in force to this day, and by which it is ordained, that the merchants
of Manila may ship to the amount of five hundred thousand dollars in
cotton goods, manufactured silk, wax, spices, and every description
of goods from China, the Peninsula of India, and the islands, and
that they may take in return one million of dollars in silver, and
the rest in merchandize, or South American produce [4].

Our guarda costas, during this year, captured a Dutch vessel, and
brought her to Manila, where she was condemned, under the pretence that
she was carrying arms to our enemies the Moors. As soon as the Dutch
in Batavia understood this, they despatched three ships to cruize off
Mariveles, with a view to intercept the galleon which was expected
to sail about this time for Acapulco, as well as the one which was
expected to arrive. Intelligence of the disposition made by the Dutch
was forwarded to the straits of St. Bernardino, but the messenger on
his arrival found that the galleon was aground in the bay of Calantas,
and that the silver had been taken out and sent to Sorsogon. Some
works had been erected to protect the ship, and many unsuccessful
attempts were made to get her off, when she was eventually set fire
to, that she might not fall into the hands of the Moors.

The Dutch annoyed these islands considerably, by thus preventing any
vessels from entering or leaving the port of Cavite. The Governor
viewed with deep concern this attack on our possessions, and found
himself embarrassed how to act, as he had transmitted to court
the account of the seizure of the Dutch vessel, and had decreed her
condemnation; but as the Dutch seemed determined to avenge the insult,
he had every reason to apprehend that serious misunderstanding between
the two powers might be the result. In this dilemma he resolved
to restore the vessel, and write to the Governor of Batavia on the
subject, on which the Dutch retired, and left the bay open. Nothing
else worthy of notice took place during this long government, except
the arrival of a new archbishop on the 24th of January, 1737.







CHAPTER X.

ANNO DOM. 1739.

    The Administration of Don Gaspar de la Torre.


Señor Don Gaspar de la Torre, born in Flanders, of Spanish parents,
arrived at Manila, and found, among other cares that would devolve
upon him, a suit which had been carrying on against Señor Arroyo,
the royal fiscal, upon an accusation preferred by Señor Tamon. An
attempt having been made to apprehend and imprison the fiscal upon
this occasion, he was too much on his guard to fall into the snare,
and took refuge in the Franciscan convent, preserving, in this secure
retreat, the liberty of his person, though he could not save his
property, which was all seized, that small portion excepted which
he was able to take with him. The matter was in this state when Don
Gaspar de la Torre took possession of the government. The archbishop,
who was the angel of peace in these islands, persuaded himself he
could succeed in accommodating the unhappy difference, and proposed
to the new Governor his mediation in favour of the fiscal; but this
was opposed by the Governor, on the ground that Arroyo ought to show
his respect for the laws, by submitting to be imprisoned in the fort,
and undergoing the usual forms of trial. The archbishop was inclined
to think that the accused would enjoy more liberty in the fort than
he did in the Franciscan convent, and all his friends being of this
opinion, Señor Arroyo was at last persuaded to quit his retreat. This
unfortunate determination subjected him to fresh hardships, for he was
immediately seized, thrown into a dungeon in the fort, and accused of
several new crimes. He was asked if he was aware of the cause of his
confinement; he answered, that he conceived he was imprisoned because
he would not, unnoticed, pass over the sums of which Señor Tamon, and
many of his particular confederates, had defrauded the royal revenue,
amounting, he believed, to about three millions of dollars: he declined
saying any thing further, as he was in a state of confinement.

All these proceedings were forwarded to his Majesty, and in the
mean time Señor Arroyo's imprisonment in the fort was accompanied
with circumstances of the greatest rigour, which had the effect of
reducing the mind of the archbishop to a state of profound melancholy,
considering himself as the author, however innocently, of the fiscal's
miseries. He sickened and died in a very short time, to the great grief
of all, on account of his affability and many excellent qualities.

Through the connivance of the Oidors, Dr. Neyra, professor of laws in
the college of the Jesuits, was made fiscal ad interim, and by this
means an addition was made to the number of Señor Arroyo's enemies. He
was now accused of having married without licence. Examinations were
taken on the subject, and a number of witnesses produced, who were
all of the clerical order, and among them particularly was the person
who had performed the ceremony. Arroyo endeavoured, by every means,
to refute this charge, but as the Governor was his decided enemy,
the clergy threw their weight likewise into the scale against him. In
a very short time he fell sick, and died in a few days, borne down
by the accumulated miseries to which he had been subjected. He was
the best and most faithful minister his Majesty ever had in these
islands, and his person ought to have been held as sacred as that of
a Roman tribune.

The King, fully informed of the harsh treatment of the fiscal,
and the violent proceedings against him which had been resorted to,
became convinced of the truth of the allegations preferred against
the conduct of Señor Tamon, and acquitting the fiscal of the crimes
imputed to him, forwarded an order, permitting him to return to
his office, enjoining the arrears of his salary to be paid up, and
directing that the two lawyers who had appeared against him should be
fined two hundred dollars each. Before this order arrived, however,
the fiscal was no more; a result commonly looked for in this climate,
where the difficulty of recovering, in cases of a depression of
spirits, is generally insuperable [5].

About this time war was declared between Spain and England, an enemy
more to be dreaded on account of the injury formerly done by this
nation to the Philippines. On this occasion, Admiral George Anson
passed Cape Horn with a squadron, in which passage he lost some ships,
but with the remainder he run down the coast of America, doing all
the mischief in his power. He arrived at Acapulco, where, finding
that the ship Nuestra Señora de Cobadonga, had not yet sailed to the
Philippines, he prosecuted his voyage thither, with the two ships
which remained of his squadron. He refreshed at one of the islands of
the Marianas, and put into Canton river to refit his ships, which had
been considerably damaged in the progress of the voyage. In Manila all
the operations of Anson were known, and to prevent him from capturing
the Cobadonga, the Governor despatched a galiot to give notice of
this powerful enemy, with directions for the Cobadonga to change her
route, and send information respecting it, in order that a galleon,
which was fitting in Cavite, might proceed to her relief. The galiot
discovered, near the straits of St. Bernardino, an enemy's vessel,
and not doubting that it was Anson, gave notice to the armed galleon
in Cavite, which immediately put to sea, but grounded on the island
of Ticao, and made so much water that she was compelled to return. The
Cobadonga arrived at the Marianas under charge of a Portuguese pilot,
and sailing from thence in perfect confidence of safety, arrived
at Cape Espiritu Santo; where the English, upon the alert, and in
greater forwardness than it was expected they could be, were waiting
with their ship the Centurion, after having refitted her at Canton.

When the Cobadonga perceived the enemy, there was no alternative
but to yield, or boldly encounter a superior force. They chose the
latter, and fought so desperately, that they did not strike till they
had sixty killed and seventy wounded, among the number of which were
the first and second captains. Admiral Anson took possession of the
vessel and property, amounting to one million five hundred thousand
dollars in silver alone, and carried the ship to Macao, where he left
the Cobadonga, proceeding to Canton to careen his own ship.

The merchants of Manila felt this loss most severely, and to be
revenged, in some measure, requested the Governor to allow them to fit
out a squadron with a view of pursuing Anson, and intercepting the
China fleet. Four ships were accordingly equipped at the expense of
the inhabitants of the town, and Don Antonio Quijano was appointed
commander. He arrived at China, but Anson had already sailed for
Europe, when not being able to return on account of the monsoon, he
wintered at Macao, and without doing any thing returned to Manila the
following year. A strict enquiry was instituted before a court martial
into the conduct of the commander and officers of the Cobadonga, and
on view of the allegations brought against them they were acquitted,
and only compelled to pay the charges of the court martial.

In consequence of this capture, however, a ruinous lawsuit commenced
between the merchants of Manila and the pious establishments, whose
property was embarked in her. The loss was declared total, and there
appeared no doubt that the pious establishments were liable to that
extent; but it was ascertained that some merchants had left their
property in Acapulco, and of course there was no real total loss, as
all the produce of the original adventure had not been embarked. The
pious establishments, therefore, asserted that their property, or a
portion of it, still existed in New Spain. The merchants on the other
hand alleged, that if the Cobadonga had arrived at Manila, the risk of
the pious establishments would have been at an end, and the merchants
must have paid them their original advance, although they must have
run the risk of bringing to Manila the property left in New Spain.

The Royal Audience determined this suit in favour of the pious
establishments, but the merchants petitioned the council of the
Indies, which gave it in their favour. This, as may be supposed,
has given rise to several lawsuits in like cases, such diversity
of opinion prevailing on the subject, that it were to be wished
the system was either wholly abolished, or altered considerably,
as it at present gives rise to numberless frauds and impositions,
to which the existing laws furnish no check [6].

Don Caspar de la Torre entered with a bad grace on his government,
in his violent proceedings against the fiscal, which drew down
on him the hatred of the public, and the disasters of this period
contributed to inflame their resentment. His whole conduct, indeed,
was apparently directed rather to reconcile himself to this prejudice,
than to remove it. Convinced of the general disgust against him,
he fell into a profound melancholy, followed by dysentery, which is
rarely cured in the Philippines. It was aggravated by an account which
arrived of a disturbance in the town of Balayan, in the province of
Batangas, and he at last fell a sacrifice to a false report which
was in circulation, that the Chinese were entering the city, when
notwithstanding his illness, he determined to oppose them in person,
but was prevented by his friends, who very soon discovered the fallacy
of the report. The effect, however, which it had on his frame was such,
that he died in a few days after, on the 21st of September, 1745.

Señor Arrechedera, of the order of St. Domingo, bishop elect of
Ylocos, succeeded him, conformable to the order of his Majesty. Upon
enquiring into the alleged defection of the Chinese, he found no such
thing had been even attempted, and that the report had been circulated
merely to annoy the Governor. Arrechedera was not slow in quelling the
disturbances in Balayan. He sent an officer, with one hundred regular
troops, and a considerable body of Indians against the insurgents; and
although this officer was not able to disperse them, as the Indians
under him fled at the first onset, he succeeded in checking their
attack, without having suffered in any other respect than a wound
from a musket ball, which he himself received from one of his own
new raised recruits. He applied to the Governor for further aid, and
two hundred men being added to his force, he attained his object. He
left a small detachment in the province to overawe those who might be
ill disposed, and the rest of the troops were embarked for Cavite,
as accounts had been received that the English had arrived with a
squadron at Batavia, and the Alcalde of Ylocos reported, that two ships
and two smaller vessels had been seen on that coast, supposed to be
enemies. The Governor immediately put Manila into a state of defence,
repairing the fortifications, purchasing arms from strangers, and
casting cannon. All these preparations, however, proved unnecessary,
as the English never appeared, but it was eventually discovered that
they had captured a brigantine and another vessel.

Before this time a dreadful persecution commenced against the
Christians in the province of Tonquin, and generally in the empire
of China. In Tonquin many suffered martyrdom, and among others
two Philippine missionaries, the Friars Gil de Federich and Mateo
Liciniana, both Dominicans, who had left Manila for the purpose of
assisting the missionary establishment which the Dominicans had in
China. They were imprisoned separately, and at different times, but
they had the happiness, before they died, of being lodged in the same
dungeon, where they mutually consoled each other, and by bribing the
soldiers who had the charge of them, they were permitted to say mass,
and preach and administer the sacrament to the Christians there. In
these sacred duties they were occupied continually, until the day on
which they were to suffer death for the propagation of the Christian
faith, by being bound to a log of wood, and having their heads struck
off. This took place at four o'clock in the evening of the 22d of
January, 1745. The Christians received their bodies, and delivered
them over to the Dominicans, who gave them honourable burial. In
the empire of China, the determination of the emperors to oppose the
propagation of the Christian religion seemed daily to become stronger,
and the Viceroy of Tonquin, who knew that in his province there were
many concealed missionaries, persecuted the Christians in every way,
in order to induce them to discover them, when, on the imprisonment
of several with this view, the missionaries voluntarily came forward
and delivered themselves up to the tyrant. There were in all five,
of the order of St. Dominic, and belonging to that establishment in
the Philippines; viz. the most illustrious Don Friar Pedro Martir
Sanz, of the province of Catalonia, Bishop of Mauricastrense, and
Apostolical Vicar; the Friars Pedro Francisco Serrano of Jaen; Juan
Alcaber of Grenada; Joaquin Royo of Hinojosa, in Aragon; and Francisco
Diaz. They were examined frequently, and suffered severely from being
beaten and otherwise tormented. The Viceroy at last sentenced Señor
Sanz to lose his head immediately, condemning likewise the rest to
the same punishment, but deferring their execution till the ordinary
time. The court of Pekin confirmed the decree, and immediately it was
made known to him; the Señor Sanz rejoiced exceedingly, and sung Te
Deum, confessing fully, and waiting impatiently for the period of his
becoming a martyr, which took place on the 26th of May, 1747. After
a lapse of six months, his body was found as fresh as the day he was
beheaded: it was taken up, burnt, reduced to powder, and thrown into
a well, that the Christians might not collect his ashes. The other
four friars remained in prison, where they were afterwards strangled
privately by order of the Viceroy. Many attributed this persecution
to the Jesuits, who bore no good will to the Señor Sanz.

Two ships about this period arrived at Manila from Acapulco, very
richly laden, bringing the accustomed relief, of which the colony
stood much in need, and which gave new life and activity to the
whole settlement. By these ships came the new Archbishop Pedro de
la Sona Trinidad, who, when counsellor of the Indies, had taken
the habit of St. Francis, and now brought with him a royal mandate,
for the absolute expulsion of the Chinese, and the appointment of
himself as Governor ad interim. This mandate for the expulsion of
the Chinese had often before this period been sent to Manila, but
had never been carried into execution, the interest of the Governor
being too deeply involved in the suspension of it, the Chinese paying
him a contribution for his forbearance. The Archbishop found that
Arrechedera was strongly attached to this nation, and he became so
far a convert to his sentiments on this subject, that he did not put
the royal order in force.

This seems to have been the only error committed by this illustrious
prelate during the time he held the government. In all other respects
his conduct reflected the highest honour on him. An insurrection
in the island of Bohol compelled him to send Captain Lechuga there
with an adequate force, who succeeded in reducing to obedience all
the towns on the sea coast of the island, but in the interior and
mountainous parts they retain their independence to this day.

The Jesuits having urged Philip the Fifth to send letters to the Kings
of Jolo and Mindanao, the Governor sent ambassadors with these letters,
and with proposals either to acknowledge the Spanish government, or to
enter into alliance with us. These chiefs were so delighted with the
honour which so great a King as that of Spain had thus conferred on
them, that they agreed to admit missionaries into their territories. A
Jesuit was accordingly sent to Mindanao, but soon observing the little
subordination of the chiefs, and the very inadequate power the King
possessed to restrain them, he began to entertain apprehensions
for his life, forsook his mission, and escaped to the garrison of
Zamboanga. In Jolo two Jesuits attempted to enter upon the object of
their mission, but were so violently opposed by the Moorish priests,
and the chief men in the country, that their progress was very limited.

Under these circumstances the King of Jolo, Mahomet Alimudin, resolved
on a visit to the Governor at Manila; but this was opposed by the two
Jesuits, on the ground of the ascendancy, which, during his absence,
his brother Bantilan would acquire, and who was the determined enemy
of the Christian name. The King's intention being whispered, Bantilan
raised such opposition to it in the court, and among the chiefs,
that the irritation became general, and the Jesuits consulted their
own safety in retiring to Zamboanga. A short time afterwards the
King likewise having been attempted to be murdered, fled to Manila to
request the aid of the Governor. On his way he arrived at Zamboanga,
and by the assistance of the Spaniards proceeded to Manila, which
he entered with seventy persons in his train, and was accommodated
at the charge of the King. He afterwards made his public entry,
was received with great ostentation, and visited by the principal
people in Manila, who brought him presents of gold chains, diamonds,
ornaments, rich apparel, and many such things of that nature, as
might be expected from the generosity of the Spaniards, and himself
and suite were supported at the public expense.

The Archbishop was desirous of making him a convert to the Christian
faith, a proposal which he embraced apparently with great fervor, and
he was accordingly instructed in the leading principles of our holy
religion; but as the general idea was, that he felt little attachment
to our religion, and only expected by that means to secure our aid
in reinstating him on the throne, his baptism was postponed.

This delay mortified the Bishop of Ylocos, who was particularly anxious
for it, and not being able to bend the Archbishop to his views, he
persuaded the King to go to the town of Panique, the first town in
Ylocos, in order to be baptized there, a Spaniard accompanying him
to act as godfather. Besides his own he had a Spanish guard, and he
was received with distinguished honour in every part through which he
passed. In Panique he was baptized by the name of Fernando, with great
solemnity, by a Dominican, assisted by many others of that order, on
the 29th of April, 1750. On his return to Manila, the Governor received
him with a general salute, and ordered entertainments of comedies,
dances, fire-works, and bull-fights, in honour of his arrival.

In Jolo, Bantilan, the brother of King Alimudin, assumed the supreme
authority, after having compelled his brother to take refuge in
Manila. He was the worst enemy the Spaniards ever had, on account
of the great depredations he committed on the coasts of all the
islands. The Archbishop was extremely desirous of repressing these
attacks, but the means he possessed were equally inadequate to this,
as insufficient to attempt the reinstatement of the King of Jolo on
his throne.







CHAPTER XI.

ANNO DOM. 1750.

    The Administration of the Marquis of Obando.


Don Francisco Joseph de Obando, a native of Caceres, in Estremadura,
had arrived in the South Sea with a squadron, and was in Lima when
the great earthquake happened, by which Callao was swallowed up. On
this occasion his exertions obtained the King's favour, and he was
nominated Governor of Manila. He then passed over to Mexico, where
he married Doña Barbara Ribadeneyra, and accompanied by her embarked
for the Philippines, the government of which he took possession of in
the month of July, 1750. The Archbishop, on his arrival, presented him
with the King's despatches, in which his Majesty charged him with the
expulsion of the Chinese. A council was summoned in order to discuss
the measure, when a difference of opinion arose on the subject, which
terminated in totally frustrating the good intentions of his Majesty
in respect to the Chinese, notwithstanding the prejudice these his
dominions suffered by them. The Archbishop claimed the right of sitting
on the left hand of the Governor, on the government seat, and which he
was not disposed to accede to; and he claimed likewise the same honours
from the officers commanding the guard when he entered the palace,
or passed through the gates of the city. These points of etiquette
alone were of sufficient importance to suspend the execution of the
orders of expulsion of the Chinese from the Philippines. The council
was consulted on this controversy, when both points were decided in
favour of the Archbishop.

The Royal Audience had likewise a misunderstanding with the Governor,
in consequence of his having, on his own authority, given the command
of Cavite Castle, ad interim, to Don Domingo Nebra; this appointment
being, in point of regularity, always given by the consent of, and
after duly consulting the Royal Audience, conformable to his Majesty's
orders. The Governor did not deny this royal order, but alleged,
in his own justification, that he could not find any person so well
qualified as Nebra for constructing such vessels as were requisite for
the commerce of Acapulco, and the defence of the islands against the
Moors; that Nebra was seventy years of age, and could not be compelled
to undertake the charge of constructing vessels unless he chose it;
and that he would by no means accept the employment, if there were
any interference of the Royal Audience, because, in such case, he
would be obliged to reside at Cavite. An extraordinary case like
the present ought not to be subjected to common rules, and he had
determined according to what appeared to him most conducive to the
interest of his Majesty's service. The Royal Audience, in reply, made
its representations and protests, but finding that the power of the
Governor preponderated, they yielded up the point in the mean time,
and appealed to his Majesty. Notwithstanding the science of Nebra,
however, of which the Governor boasted so much, the ship Pilar, which
he careened before her departure for Acapulco, disappeared at sea, and
nothing has ever been heard of her since. Another dispute, which made
considerable noise, took place at this time in Manila: a lady who had
taken the veil in the nunnery of Santa Catalina, under the name Madre
Cecilia, had fallen in love with Don Francisco Figueroa, and the vacant
seat of government being at that time filled by Señor Arrechedera,
Figueroa presented himself to the proper officer, requiring that the
profession of Madre Cecilia might be annulled. The Vicar General,
not desirous of having any controversies with the Dominican Friars,
of whose order the Governor was, advised Figueroa, on this occasion, to
say nothing on the subject for the present, but wait a more favourable
conjuncture for his pretensions. As soon as the Señor Obando arrived,
conceiving that the reason which induced him to refrain no longer
existed, he presented himself to the Archbishop, requesting, as
he had done before, that the Vicar General should annul the nun's
vows. His Excellency ordered that she should be lodged in the Santa
Potenciana; the Dominicans opposed it most strenuously, and appealed
to the superior government; but not finding themselves supported in
this tribunal, they gave up the point, and delivered her over to the
Vicar General, who was charged with the care of her. The cause mean
time went on, and the Archbishop decreed, after mature deliberation,
that the sanctuary of Santa Catalina being by his Majesty prohibited
from being converted into a convent, the Madre Cecilia, who had there
made her profession, could not be properly considered a religieuse,
and that her profession, therefore, was null and void. The Dominicans
appealed to the delegate, who was the Bishop of Zebu; the appeal was
admitted, but permission was given her to marry. In order to follow
up this appeal, with alacrity, a dignified clergyman was ordered to
be despatched, who was capable of opposing the pretensions of Cecilia
with effect, for it was concluded that to act otherwise would be to
dishonour the sanctuary of Santa Catalina; but this gentleman not
being disposed to take charge of so unpleasant a suit, pretended ill
health. There was no other of that description in the Philippine
Islands to whom they could have recourse, in consequence of which
they laid the cause before the Archbishop of Mexico, who received it,
and cited the Madre Cecilia to appear before his tribunal, ordering
her to be sent to Mexico to answer the plea, and receive sentence.

As the appeal, however, was not allowed to operate to the suspension of
matrimony, Cecilia contracted marriage, and with her husband embarked
for Mexico, where it was decided that the marriage should be considered
as valid, and of course the profession declared to be annulled. This
decision having reached the council of the Indies, it was ordered that
the sanctuary of Santa Catalina should be abolished, on the decease
of all the religious then existing in it, which, however, was not
observed, the Dominicans having obtained a reversal of the order.

The Governor having received information of new depredations
committed by the Moors in the Bisaya provinces, determined to fit
out an efficient force, which might not only attain this object, but
likewise re-establish the throne of Jolo in Don Fernando Alimudin,
who had been unjustly deprived of it, and whom he had found, on his
arrival at Manila, converted to Christianity.

On this last point, indeed, there was a diversity of opinion, for
many thought that his fidelity could not be relied on, and that the
very first opportunity which offered he would be guilty of treachery,
as his ancestors had been. It was, however, determined in favour of
the expatriated King, and he was conducted to Jolo in the Admiral's
ship of the squadron, which sailed from Cavite, under the command of
Colonel Quian, who was charged with both commissions. The squadron
arrived at Zamboanga, with the exception of the Admiral's ship,
which not appearing, and that the monsoon might not be lost, or time
allowed to the Moors to fortify themselves, the armament sailed from
that port on the 13th of June, 1751, and on the 20th came to anchor
in the harbour of Jolo, one mile distant from the fortification of
the enemy. The attack was immediately commenced, and so panic-struck
were the Moorish commanders, that they directly entered into a treaty,
and signed an instrument, binding themselves to obedience to the King,
and to conduct themselves as faithful subjects, and also engaging to
deliver up to the Spaniards all the captive Christians which might
be then in the island. With this treaty the Colonel returned in nine
days to Zamboanga, carrying with him two sampans with Chinese, whom
he found there acting as merchants, and whom he made prisoners, under
the pretext that they had sold a cannon to the Joloese, our enemies,
with whom we had just made peace. The Admiral's ship had been delayed
by a storm, and was detained in Calapan repairing the rudder, which
was the occasion of his not arriving at Zamboanga until the 25th
of July, but the King of Jolo, impatient at such delay, embarked,
accompanied by two carracoas, and had arrived twelve days before.

Notwithstanding his diligence, the Governor of Zamboanga entertained
much doubt of his fidelity, and having taken charge of two letters,
one of which he had written, by order of the Governor of Manila,
to the King of Mindanao, and the one letter being in the vulgar
tongue, and the other in Arabic, a language which he had acquired in
Batavia, where he had been some time, it excited a curiosity to know
what the King had said in that language so totally in disuse in our
islands. Accordingly a person was procured to translate the letter,
and the contents were found to be, that he (the King) had written the
other letter in obedience to the commands of the Governor of Manila,
and that he could not do otherwise than obey, as he was in the power
of a stranger.

To the suspicion attached to this was added another circumstance:
a brother of his, named Asin, together with the chiefs of Jolo, who
had capitulated with the Colonel, and agreed to receive their King,
and deliver up the Christian captives, paid a visit to Zamboanga, and
in addition to their bringing with them no captives whatever, they were
charged with having introduced arms to surprise the government. The
Governor, upon the strength of this charge, immediately confined the
King, together with Asin, and those who accompanied him: his house
was searched, but only a few arms were found, quite insufficient to
induce a belief that he intended any thing against the government;
but many other effects were found concealed in his prison, and various
informations and memoranda which he had sent to the Moors, justified
the suspicions entertained of him. In corroboration of all this,
the Admiral and two passengers declared, that the King was on very
bad terms with the Manila people, of whom he had received so many
attentions and services, and that on all occasions he manifested
his ingratitude. That he had said the new Governor detained him
prisoner; that he had given no proofs of being a Christian, for he
slept every night with his concubines; that he never heard mass;
and that he even stripped off the crosses from the rosaries of the
family he resided with; and, lastly, that he had become an apostate,
by making a Mahometan sacrifice at Calapan, where he had killed a goat,
divided it into twelve portions, with many superstitious ceremonies,
and distributed it to his companions to eat, by way of celebrating
the passover.

The Governor of Zamboanga communicated these proceedings to the
government at Manila, requesting instructions for the regulation
of his conduct in respect to the seizure of the Sultan and his
family; and the result was an order for his being sent to Manila
with all his people. War was likewise immediately declared against
the Joloese. Letters of marque and reprisal were granted to whomever
might apply for them, and all prize-money was given up arising from
captures, together with the liberty of detaining the persons of their
prisoners as slaves. So firm, indeed, was the determination of our
government to exterminate the Moors, that a general absolution was
conceded to all those who should present themselves to serve against
them. The armament at Zamboanga, under the command of the Colonel,
was reinforced, and a second expedition was undertaken to Jolo, still
more unfortunate in its results than the first: for having attempted
to disembark in that island, they were received by the Moors with so
much spirit, that they were obliged to retire with considerable loss,
and with great disgrace and ignominy to the Spanish arms.

The haughty Bantilan, who governed the kingdom of Jolo in the absence
of his brother, proud of the victory he had obtained against the
Spaniards, began to treat with the inhabitants of Mindanao, to induce
them to break with us, and molest us as much as in their power: and
he persuaded all the pirates among those islands to exert themselves
against the Spaniards, representing them as conquered, and in great
dread of his arms. The consequence was, that the seas were covered
with Moorish armaments, which spread desolation in every quarter.

Nothing was heard of but the robberies, burnings, captures of ships,
imprisonments, and insults which our provinces experienced from
the Moors. So that Señor Obando was resolved to proceed in person
against them, and endeavour to remove the dreadful evils to which we
were exposed.

His Majesty had given orders that an establishment should be formed
in the island of Paragua, to shut out the pirates from that quarter,
in the same manner as they were from Zamboanga. To proceed with due
regularity in this respect, the governor despatched an ambassador to
the King of Borneo, to induce him to cede to us the claim he held to
part of that island, which, being granted, a squadron was sent there
to erect the proposed station, and to cruize against the Moors, who
infested the islands. He was desirous of taking the command of this
expedition in person, and consulted the Royal Audience on the subject,
who were of opinion that it would not be proper to expose himself, and
that, by confiding it to some other person, and sending an engineer
to make the necessary arrangements for forming the establishment in
the island of Paragua, every thing might be done which the public good
required. In conformity to this advice he named Don Antonio Fabea to
the command of this expedition, who proceeded from Port Cavite with
eleven sail of armed vessels, taking with him Don Manuel Aguirre,
who went as governor of the proposed new establishment. He received
orders in passing by Igolote, in the same island, to dislodge the
Moors, who were the only possessors of that part of it; but here,
sickness prevailing to a great extent in the armament, they merely took
possession of the island, and returned to Manila, leaving behind them
two hundred and seventy dead, and bringing many more invalids in the
squadron. The King of Jolo had by this time arrived at Manila, and
was imprisoned in the fort of Saint Jago, to the great satisfaction
of all those who had opposed his baptism, and who always doubted
his fidelity; but he obtained permission from the Governor for his
daughter, Fatima, who was also a prisoner with him, to go to Jolo,
and to carry letters to his brother, and other principal persons,
in order to bring about a peace with the Spaniards; and for this
indulgence he bound himself to deliver up fifty captive Christians. The
princess fulfilled the engagement, brought over the fifty captives,
and induced her uncle, Bantilan, to send an ambassador to Manila,
to treat on all matters relative to her father. This envoy brought
powers to negociate in concert with the King for peace with the
Governor; and in confirmation of such powers, he bound himself to
observe whatever terms were acceded to by them.

It was accordingly stipulated with the King and the Ambassador, that
the Moors of Jolo should deliver up all the Christian captives who
might be found in the island. That they should return all the arms
they had taken from the Spaniards, and the ornaments of which they
had pillaged the churches; and in order to have the treaty ratified,
liberty was granted to one of the chief officers, who was confined
with the King, to go to Jolo in company with the ambassador whom
Bantilan had sent over. The Governor put very little confidence
either in the promises or the treaty of the Moors, for they have
never observed them, but have broken them with the same facility
with which they made them. He therefore fitted out a strong squadron
to compel them by force to a due observation of their engagements,
as it was not otherwise to be expected.

His precautions were not in vain, for in the very same year of 1754,
the greatest irruption took place which these islanders ever made into
the Philippines. They entered with fire and sword in all directions,
murdering the religious orders, Indians and Spaniards, burning and
robbing towns, and making prisoners of thousands of Christians,
not only in the islands near to Jolo, but in all our dominions,
even the provinces in the immediate neighbourhood of Manila.

The fleet sailed which had been prepared to oppose them; but before any
thing could be done, the four years of Obando's government expired. His
successor arrived, and the Marquis left these islands in the most
deplorable situation in which they were ever known. The causes of
these evils were either his own ill management, the incapacity of
those he employed, or, perhaps, misfortune. What we are certain of
is, that the period of his residence here was most calamitous. Yet,
we must say, he had many great difficulties to encounter.

The following year he embarked in the galleon Santissima Trinidad
for Acapulco, and died on his passage, without ever reaching New Spain.







CHAPTER XII.

ANNO DOM. 1754.

    The Administration of Don Pedro Manuel de Arandia.


Don Pedro Manuel de Arandia, a native of Ceuta, and a Biscayan
by descent, took possession of his government in July, 1754, and
as soon as he arrived at Manila, he lost no time in adopting the
regulations observed in Spain for putting the military on a more
respectable footing.

The royal regiment, which consisted of two battalions, he formed into a
corps of artillery, putting it into the state in which we now find it,
and granted to the soldiers, as well as the officers, a pay sufficient
to maintain themselves with decency, and perform their duty without
the necessity of having recourse to any other employment for their
support. He took great pains, likewise, in improving the arsenal of
Cavite, and the situation and consequence of the officers of that
establishment; in doing which he incurred the disapprobation and
ill-will of many, to whom such reform and zeal was highly injurious.

In the commencement of his government, in the month of December, there
happened a terrible shock of an earthquake, and the Taal, which is
in the middle of the Lake Bombon, in the province of Batangas, threw
out such an immense quantity of cinders, as completely to ruin four
towns which were situated near the lake, and the inhabitants found
it necessary to retire a league further into the interior. Many other
severe shocks followed, accompanied by loud reports similar to those
of contending squadrons, and the atmosphere was entirely obscured
by the sand and ashes thrown up by the volcano, so that at Manila,
which is twenty leagues distant, it was scarcely possible to see
even in the middle of day; and at Cavite, which is rather nearer,
the obscurity resembled the darkness of midnight.

I ascended, with the Señor Alava, to the summit of this volcano, but
all that we could observe was a lake, about half a league in diameter,
very deep, and containing water of a dark green colour.

The fleet which Señor Obando had despatched against the Moors was so
ill conducted, that it was found necessary to take the command from
Don Miguel Valdos, who had been sent in that capacity, and give it to
the Friar Ducos, a Jesuit, from whose conduct a more favourable result
was expected. So effectually did that father conduct the expedition,
and with such valour and prudence, that he took from the enemy more
than one hundred and fifty sail of vessels, destroyed three towns,
killed and made prisoners an immense number of people, and completely
checked the impetuous spirit of those barbarians.

These happy tidings arrived at Manila in January, 1755. Señor
Arandia gave orders that Te Deum should be sung as a thanksgiving, and
confirmed the command of the squadron to the Friar Ducos, whom he very
much esteemed, being the son of a colonel of his intimate acquaintance,
and appearing to have inherited his father's military talents.

The King of Jolo experienced from the Governor the most kind and
compassionate treatment, and he granted him his liberty, although he
continued voluntarily to reside in the fort of Saint Jago. He settled
a revenue on him of fifty dollars per month, besides six measures of
rice for his maintenance, and persuaded the Archbishop to grant him
permission to hear mass, and receive the sacrament, of which he had
been deprived.

The King was desirous of marrying a woman who had been his concubine,
and had already become a Christian. The Archbishop was not inclined to
consent; but Arandia not only removed every difficulty, but allowed him
the use of his palace, in order that the marriage might be celebrated
with more solemnity and grandeur.

These arrangements were not made without some dispute with the
Archbishop; and at the same time another circumstance, although of
no great importance in itself, proved sufficient to occasion a great
sensation in the islands.

Arandia had complained to the Archbishop, that the bells were not rung
when he entered or left the church as they ought to be, he being the
representative of his Majesty. It was in reply, the Archbishop alleged,
that no royal order existed to that effect; and these contests on
points of etiquette, added to the indisposition under which this
prelate laboured, which produced his death on the 29th of May, 1755.

The Governor continued his kind attentions to the King of Jolo, as it
appeared to him the best mode of putting an end to hostility with the
Moors. He sent thither all the Princes and Princesses, and all the
women which had been detained by them, the King only remaining at
Manila, who presented repeated petitions for release, and engaged,
in the most solemn manner, to conform to the decision of the court
of Madrid respecting the cause of his detention.

The Princes and Princesses arrived at Jolo the 5th of October of this
year, and they were well received by Bantilan, who being highly pleased
with the generosity of the Governor, promised faithfully to observe
the treaties of peace which his brother and his Ambassador had signed
at Manila. Entirely to put an end to hostilities, it was requisite to
have an understanding with the inhabitants of Mindanao. Ambassadors
were accordingly sent over, but so numerous are the petty Kings in
those islands, and so treacherous, that it was found impossible to
establish a durable peace with them. Even admitting that all the chiefs
were desirous of strictly observing pacific terms with the Spaniards,
they have so little power over their vassals, that they have never
been able to restrain them within due bounds. That kind of predatory
life having become habitual to them, nothing but a spiritual conquest
of their provinces will protect us from the persecuting spirit of
these troublesome neighbours.

The government now thought of establishing missionaries in the Batan
islands, which lie to the north of Cagayan. Formerly there had been
Dominican friars settled in the island of Babuyanes, who employed
themselves in instructing the inhabitants in the Christian duties;
but in the year 1690 they returned to Cagayan, upon the order of the
chief to quit the country. The father who conducted them immediately
established a mission in the Batan islands, about thirty leagues from
Cagayan, but after his death his companions retired, abandoning the
mission until the year 1718, at which period another Dominican friar
re-established it, fixing his residence in the island of Calayan,
to which he endeavoured to induce the inhabitants of the adjoining
islands to repair for instruction in our faith. But whatever might be
the inclination of the Batanians to become converts, only one hundred
and fifty persons found resolution to change their residence, and
of these one half died in a very little time. That island, indeed,
afforded but very few resources, in consequence of which the missionary
friar fell sick, and although a successor was appointed, the mission
was eventually abandoned.

In the year 1754 the idea was resumed, and two friars were sent for
the purpose, of which one died immediately, and the other retired to
Cagayan very seriously indisposed, but returned again the succeeding
year with a brother friar; and in order to guard against the miseries
which they had suffered the preceding year, they determined to take
with them a carpenter, who was a lay brother, for the erection of a
house and accommodations immediately on their arrival, the materials
for which they proposed to have ready prepared for the purpose. Their
zeal, however, would not permit them to wait until the materials for
the house could be finished, and fearful lest the monsoon should be
lost, they embarked without them.

They had scarcely arrived at Cagayan, when they both fell sick; two
other friars went to their aid, and they also fell sick, as did all who
followed, and it became absolutely necessary to abandon the attempt
after the Dominicans had incurred very heavy expenses to effect the
object. In the year 1783, Señor Basco again undertook this conquest;
and at length we have succeeded in establishing the Dominicans there,
who employ themselves strenuously in the conversion of the inhabitants
of these islands.

A Governor was appointed with an assistant, and great expense was
incurred in support of the establishment, as it was necessary to send
almost every thing from the Philippines, all those islands producing
little else than a species of potatoe, and some other objects of as
little value.

There is no doubt that other productions might be reared, but the rats
are so numerous that they consume every thing, and very frequently the
hurricanes destroy the seeds before they come to perfection. Every
year a vessel was sent to carry the necessary supplies to the
establishment, but as these hurricanes are very frequent, and many
of the vessels were shipwrecked, it became fully ascertained that it
would be impossible to maintain the station, and it was determined that
only the Dominican friars should remain there, with a small escort,
which was to be relieved from Cagayan as occasion might require. On
Señor Basco the title of Conde de Conquista was bestowed, as a reward
for his exertions in this undertaking; but it is very certain that if
half the money which was thus expended in Batanes had been applied in
the appointment and support of missionaries in Ylocos, Pangasinan,
and Cagayan, his Majesty would have acquired many more subjects,
and with much less risk.

It is matter of astonishment that we should have quitted the old beaten
track of employing precautionary and pacific measures for the conquest
of the Indians, and have recourse to arms and expensive expeditions,
merely because they make more noise, and appear more splendid:
a proof of the insufficiency of these appeared on the following
occasion in the mountains of the Igorrotes. In the year 1740, the
Augustine friars had delivered over to the Dominicans the missions
of Ytuy, or Ysinay, so that in conjunction with the missionaries
of Panique, who had been established there the year before, the
provinces of Pangasinan and Cagayan, by the south side, might be
united. The Indians, Christians as well as Infidels, took umbrage at
this alteration in the establishments, and a kind of civil war among
them was the consequence, so that the Oidors Don Ignacio Azardun, and
Señor Rebolledo, who were then inspecting the province of Pangasinan,
deeming it necessary, sent troops to quell these disturbances. But
a few years afterwards fresh discontents on the same account arose;
and in the year 1756, many of the Christians became apostates, and,
uniting with the Infidels, were guilty of the greatest excesses. They
burnt several churches, murdered a great many of those who retained
their attachment to Christianity, and losing all respect for the
missionary fathers, they diligently sought their lives. This induced
Señor Arandia to despatch an expedition in aid of the missionaries, to
the mountains of the Igorrotes, which proved of very little effect; for
the only purpose it answered was to drive the Indians to the recesses,
from whence they again issued on the retreat of our forces. To attain
the best mode of civilizing the Indians, it is necessary to know
well their character and disposition: either from their turn of mind,
which is naturally superstitious, or because Heaven wills it so, they
are in general very much attached to the missionary fathers, and hold
them in great respect; but notwithstanding this, as may be expected,
there will be some bold enough to conceive enmity against them, and for
this reason military stations, or escorts, become necessary for their
protection. Occasionally a mutinous disposition will be shown, and a
whole multitude will declare against the fathers, from which unhappy
consequences might arise, did not the different military stations
scattered through the country afford a check to such disposition. By
means of such cautionary, rather than splendid establishments, these
islands were originally subdued, and these in many parts still exist;
but the missionaries being very few in number, it often becomes
necessary to make a journey of a whole day, when confession or other
ecclesiastical rites are to be administered. In addition to this,
they are but very poorly paid; for what is one hundred dollars, and
two hundred measures of rice, for the maintenance of a Spaniard on
these missions?

This very small stipend is insufficient to cover their expenses,
and they are exposed to every privation, without the enjoyment
of any one comfort. Of all this our magistrates are the cause,
many of them seeking various pretexts for withholding the stipends,
and even obliging the fathers to go to the capital to receive them,
as I have myself seen. Such is the misery these poor friars undergo,
that at times they are compelled to subsist on what is allowed them for
their escorts, and live without that protection, rather preferring to
be exposed to the insults of those heathens, than to perish through
hunger. The military stations are also very thinly scattered, and
the loyal Indians very incapable of imposing any restraint on their
countrymen.

If what has been expended in vain and fruitless expeditions had been
employed in these certain means of civilization, much more progress
would have been made. It is true that we never can expect such rapid
progress as our ancestors made in the conquest, because the Indians
are more enlightened. Even the Christian converts persuade them not
to be baptized, that they may avoid the payment of tribute or other
imposts. The custom, too, of one tribe revenging the murder of an
individual of that tribe upon the tribe of the murderer, very much
impedes conversion, and consequently civilization, for from hence
results the necessity of the weakest tribes changing their residence,
or forming a confederacy with others. In such case Christianity must
suffer, for the baptized Indians must always follow the Infidels
of their tribe, and be alienated from the fathers, or be exposed
to constant hostility. Nothing but the extension of protection,
and the gradual dissemination of our religious tenets, will abolish
this sanguinary custom. The Christian morality is so salutary in its
effects, as to extract vice from every heart, in which it has not
taken too deep a root.

On the 15th of May, 1757, the Holy See passed a decree, which put
an end to the controversies which existed in the kingdom of Tonquin,
between the Dominicans, Augustines, and other followers of the cross,
but it is unimportant to our purpose. Returning to the affairs of
Manila. One of the good things which Señor Arandia effected during
his administration, was the expulsion of the Chinese. He despatched
all these heathens to their own country; and in order to prevent
them in future from settling in the Philippines, he appropriated the
quarter of St. Fernando for the reception of such Chinese as should
come upon commercial pursuits, and who by the regulations established
were to re-embark in due time, with the exception of such Christians
as might be among their number, who were permitted to remain, and apply
themselves to the cultivation of the land. The Spaniards who interested
themselves in the residence of the Chinese in Manila, represented to
the Governor that there would be a want of people to carry on the trade
with the islands if they were expelled; and to obviate this difficulty,
he established a company of native Spaniards and Mestizoes for that
purpose, which, however, was found very incompetent to the task. The
Asiatics being naturally very slothful, and consequently very fond of
that kind of employment which procures subsistence without much labour,
attain their object by buying and selling such things as are raised
here, or imported from the adjacent islands for the consumption of
the capital; and as they are poor miserable creatures, each has a
very narrow and limited traffic, but there is scarcely one of them
who does not employ himself very diligently. This superabundance of
petty merchants makes the goods come very dear, because they pass
through many hands before they reach those of the consumer, and as
they turn but a very small capital, it is necessary they should each
make a profit adequate to their maintenance; from all which it may
be inferred, that far from there being too few Chinese in this trade,
their number ought to be considerably reduced.

Notwithstanding the wisdom of this measure, Señor Arandia lost much
of that esteem in which he had been held, and by this and other means
drew on him the odium of the public. By virtue of the full powers
with which he was invested by the court, he framed instructions for
the chief magistrates in the government of the provinces, in which
an open declaration was made against the regular clergy. In the
commencement of his authority he had treated the religious orders
with due attention, but hurt at the disrespect shewn to him by some
individuals, he deprived them by these instructions of their kitchen
boys, which the King had granted them ever since the conquest, and of
the servants which had been allowed them as sacristans. Not satisfied
with these injuries, he made many representations against them to
his Majesty, in which he spoke of them with very little decorum,
and in his despatches lost no opportunity of vilifying them even
in matters not at all connected with their clerical duties. The
instructions here alluded to the King had the goodness to disapprove
of, as soon as he saw them. With the Royal Audience, likewise, he had a
dispute, in consequence of his refusal to allow them military honours
during their sittings, unless he himself presided. He imprisoned
and commenced a process against the treasurer and comptroller of the
royal revenue, and treated them with great severity, because they had
communicated information to the court on some points very opposite
to his communications on the same subjects. Indefatigable in the
discharge of his duty, he formed many projects which he conceived
to be of importance to the welfare of the settlement. It was his
intention to remove the arsenal of Cavite to Port Lampon. He ordered
a ship to be built in the kingdom of Siam; but, unfortunately, in
conducting her to Manila, she put three times into China, and once
into Batavia, incurring by this means an enormous expense on the
treasury. He proposed to the King various plans for working the iron
and gold mines. He abolished the office of Corregidor of Mariveles,
uniting Marigondon and other small towns to the district of Cavite,
and forming of the towns on the opposite coast, and of others belonging
to Pampanga, the district which we call Batan. He introduced many
regulations among the troops, and for the better management of the
royal revenue and the affairs of the Acapulco ship, giving on all
occasions many proofs of his zeal for his Majesty's service, with
which he appeared animated, perhaps, to a degree of enthusiasm; and
which having been mismanaged by his favourite, Señor Orendain, had
been the cause of his being universally disliked. All these objects
occasioned so much fatigue to Arandia that he became incapable of any
kind of business, and such a rapid decline in his vital powers took
place, that on the 31st of May, 1759, apprehending his approaching
death, he took all the sacraments, and expired the following day at
two o'clock in the morning. He left a property to the amount of two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and it was difficult to conceive
how he had amassed so much money in the short period of five years,
during which his government lasted; but at the hour of his death he
distributed his property, like a pious man and a Christian.

On the death of Arandia, Señor Espelata, Bishop of Zebu, entered,
ad interim, upon the government; and shortly after there arrived at
Manila the new Archbishop, Don Manuel Roxo, native of Tala, in the
kingdom of New Spain. His Majesty had promoted him from the Vicar
Generalship of Mexico to this See, ordering him to be consecrated in
New Spain. He took possession of his charge on the 22d of July, 1759,
and immediately preferred his claim to hold the military government of
the islands, which he contended belonged to him by royal order. The
four Oidors were divided in opinion; the Señores Calderon and Davila
thinking the Archbishop in the right, and the Señores Villacorta
and Galban being of a different way of thinking. While in the hall
discussing this subject, Espelata entered, delivered his sentiments
with firmness and resolution, and to intimidate them prepared the
artillery, and put the troops under arms. This determined conduct
induced the Oidors and the Archbishop to give up the point, and the
Bishop of Zebu remained in quiet possession. The first thing he did was
to revoke many orders of Señor Arandia, and to make some arrangements
for checking the Moors, who, since the year 1754, had been ravaging our
provinces with impunity. But what occupied the public attention most
in his time was the cause of Doctor Orendain. The doctor was accused
of being the cause of Arandia's mismanagement of public affairs,
and that the Royal Fiscal, Señor Viana, had been by his suggestion
confined to his house. Orendain, either through remorse of conscience,
or because he dreaded some attempt against his person, took refuge
in the Augustine convent at Tondo. As the doctor was treasurer of the
Cruzada, the Royal Fiscal took up the idea that his voluntary retreat
into a sanctuary indicated his being in debt to the Royal revenue,
and on this ground he was taken from his asylum, imprisoned in Fort
Santiago, and Señor Villa Corta was ordered to proceed against him. It
was found that he had secreted many valuable effects in the convents;
but whilst they were employed in this scrutiny, he escaped from the
fortress dressed in woman's clothes, going out in a coach, without
being recognized by the guard, and took refuge in the Franciscan
convent. Villa Corta had recourse to the Vicar General for an order
to take him out, which being refused on three different applications,
a notary and some troops were sent to take him by force. The Vicar
General declared Villa Corta excommunicated, and issued handbills
to that effect. This gentleman had recourse to the Royal Audience,
who ordered the Vicar General to absolve him, which he did by means
of the Curate of the cathedral, but only in a temporary way, and for
the space of thirty days; that is, that if in thirty days the defendant
did not return within the pale of the church, the excommunication would
again be in force. Señor Villa Corta protested against the conduct of
the Vicar General, and so entangled was this cause, that the Judges
opposed each other, and even Calderon and Davila were opposed by the
King's Solicitor, who had received briefs on the occasion, and the
point remained undetermined, some being unwilling to undertake it, and
others entertaining opposite opinions upon it. Such was the position
of Orendain's business when the royal despatches arrived, in which the
Archbishop was appointed Governor ad interim, in consequence of the
death of Señor Arandia. He took the baton of government in the year
1761, and determined this famous cause, ordering Orendain to be set
at liberty, all his property to be restored to him, and imposing on
all perpetual silence on the subject. For this decision Orendain was
indebted to his being treasurer of the Cruzada, and his Majesty was
satisfied with the issue of the business. The Archbishop administered
public affairs rather with the paternal solicitude of a father than
the rigour of a Governor, composing all individual differences,
and extending his friendly care even to the King of Jolo, who lived
in the fortress under considerable privations. He removed him to a
house in Manila, decently fitted up, and allowed him a carriage and
a sufficiency of domestics for his service. In addition to this, he
was desirous of re-establishing him on the throne; and having taken
the opinion of the principal persons of Manila, it was determined
that he should be re-conducted to Jolo, with his son Israel, and that
he should have a Spanish guard with him, in order that the chiefs of
his island might not oblige him to abjure the Catholic faith, which
he had embraced under the name of Fernando. Just at the period of
putting all this in execution the English appeared before the place,
but the importance of this event renders it necessary to be treated
of in distinct chapters.







CHAPTER XIII.

    Of the Siege of Manila by the English, in the Year 1762.


The courts of England and Spain had declared war in the month of
November, 1761, but nothing of this was known at Manila, although there
were reasons for our being in some degree on our guard. A priest,
who held a correspondence with the English on the coast, received
information of an expedition which was preparing there, and Father
Quadrado, an Augustine, received a letter from his father by way of
China, which informed him of the commencement of hostilities with
the English; but as it was private intelligence, and not confirmed,
those who had gone on their different pursuits to Canton and Batavia
paid no attention to it. On the 14th of September, 1762, an English
vessel appeared in the bay, which would not admit our officers on
board, and having made soundings all over the bay, sailed again by
the point of Mariveles.

The Mahhicas Indians informed us they had seen a large ship of two
tiers of guns, and manned with white men, the captain of which had
put many questions to them respecting the ships which traded to New
Spain. In Manila it was generally believed this ship was not in search
of the Philippine Islands, but was on its passage home to Europe,
and as it was near the commencement of the winter season, that she
was making all despatch to save the monsoon. It afterwards appeared,
however, that an English fleet had sailed from Madras the beginning
of August for the express purpose of taking Manila, and which was to
rendezvous at the island of Luban in case of separation, and which
actually did take place in consequence of a gale of wind, which obliged
one English frigate to put into Canton, and delayed the arrival of two
others eight days after the rest of the squadron appeared in our bay.

On the 22d of September, at half past five in the afternoon, a fleet
was discovered, consisting of thirteen sail, and notwithstanding he
was thus taken by surprize, the Governor immediately adopted every
needful measure of defence, and sent reinforcements to Cavite. While
preparations were thus making for the reception of an enemy, an officer
was despatched with a letter to the commanding officer of the squadron,
demanding to know who he was, and what motive he had for entering
the harbour. The following day, in the morning, two English officers
landed, and brought the answer of Admiral Cornish, who commanded the
squadron, and Brigadier-General Draper, who commanded the troops,
stating, that they had orders from the King of Great Britain to take
possession of these islands, and they demanded an immediate surrender,
for if any resistance were made, having a force sufficiently formidable
to attain the object in view, they should commence hostilities as
soon as they received an unfavourable reply. The Governor answered,
that the proposition they had made could not be accepted by subjects
faithful to their allegiance, and that they were ready to lose their
lives in the defence of the honour of their Sovereign. The squadron, in
consequence, approached near the south front of the powder manufactory,
and about six in the afternoon they took possession of that redoubt,
in which our people had left some saltpetre, and other effects,
having only had time to remove the powder. Supported by the fire of
the squadron, they took possession successively of the churches of
Malate, La Hermita, San Juan de Bagunbayan, and Santiago, and of all
the houses in those suburbs of Manila.

Two piquet guards made a sortie, but not being able to sustain the
heat of the enemy's fire from the church of Santiago, they were
obliged to retire.

If our troops had, in the first instance, opposed the landing of the
enemy, they possibly might have repulsed them, for they effected it
in the day-time, when the sea ran high, and there was a very great
surf, which occasioned the loss of one of the launches, carrying
an eighteen pounder, with the whole of her crew. The other launches
landed their troops, the water breast high, carrying their muskets
and cartouch boxes on their heads; and under these disadvantages two
hundred reached the shore, who immediately drew up in line, covering
the landing of the rest. If under these circumstances they had been
attacked, what might not have been expected from the gallantry of
our troops? But our numbers were so insignificant, that they were
no more than adequate to the defence of the walls. The whole force
in Manila consisted of the King's regiment, which was so reduced by
death and desertion, and by different detachments in the galleons and
garrisons, that they could scarcely muster five hundred and fifty men,
of which the artillery consisted of eighty, most of them Indians,
very little accustomed to the use of great guns.

On the arrival of the English, four companies of militia were formed
from among the merchants, and a few days after five thousand Indians
came to our aid, who not knowing how to handle a musket were of very
little use. The English had one thousand five hundred European troops,
consisting of Draper's regiment, two companies of artillery, three
thousand seamen, eight hundred seapoy fusileers, and one thousand four
hundred seapoy pioneers, making in all a force of six thousand eight
hundred and thirty men. How was it possible to resist such a force,
and think of preventing it from disembarking?

On the following day, the 24th, our batteries of San Diego and
San Andres commenced their fire, but with very little effect, the
enemy being under cover of a church. The same day arrived a galley,
which had been despatched by the commander of the Philipino, Acapulco
ship, which had put into Palapag. As soon as the enemy perceived this
galley, they despatched a light frigate and four shallops in chase,
when perceiving itself pursued, it bore up for Navotas, where it
was run on shore, and the crew quitted it, leaving on board only the
captain and some passengers, who were made prisoners. Not being able
to get off the galley, the English set it on fire, after stripping
it of every thing valuable. Those who escaped informed the Governor
that the Philipino was at Palapag, and that the captain was desirous
of measures being adopted, without loss of time, for securing the
treasure she had on board.

The English likewise, by means of the despatches they had taken in the
galley, got information of the situation of the Philipino, and sent
off that night a ship of the line and a frigate in quest of her; but
instead of her they fell in with the Trinidad, which had just arrived
on that part of the coast in her route to Acapulco, and of which they
made a prize, with her valuable cargo. Contenting themselves with
this, they gave the Philipino an opportunity of putting her treasure
on shore, thus preserving what proved our only resource during this
war, as we shall see afterwards. In the night a sortie was made from
the fort, with a view to dislodge the enemy from the churches, in
which they had strongly established themselves. The command of this
sortie was given to Monsieur Faller, a Frenchman, who had served in
Manila. He sallied out with two four-pounder field pieces, and the
requisite number of artillerymen, fifty fusileers of the regulars,
a few militia, and eight hundred Indians, armed with lances. He
attacked the enemy at his quarters, and the action lasted the whole
night; but observing that the English received fresh succours, he
withdrew his people towards the church of San Juan de Bagunbayan,
from which he kept up a fire against the church of Santiago until
the following morning, and from thence, by means of a reinforcement
which was sent him from the fort, he was enabled to make good his
retreat. This sortie could be considered only as an empty vaunt,
for how could they flatter themselves, with a handful of men, with
dislodging the English from the churches, which may be considered,
in fact, like so many castles, having such immensely thick walls of
square stone? Faller by this attempt incurred the charge of treason,
however unjustly.

The artillery now began to play incessantly on both sides; the
enemy did some injury to the buildings with their bombardment, and
some eighteen-inch shells were picked up in the fort quite entire,
and returned to them in their own camp. At night we used charges of
canister shot, and kept up a brisk fire of musketry, which produced
some effect, for the next day we perceived many of their dead between
the esplanade and their trenches.

On the morning of the 27th, at eight o'clock, some Indians and
Mestizoes, without having any orders to that effect, presented
themselves before the advanced guards of the English camp, fell upon
them, and drove them from their posts, but a reinforcement of three
hundred men arriving, the advantage was lost, and the Indians repulsed,
to whom a signal was made to leave the field open, in order that the
artillery might play upon the enemy. During this action, an English
officer was seen approaching with a white flag, accompanied by a youth
in negro's dress, and beating the chamade on his drum: our artillery
suspended their fire, but the Indians attacking the English officer,
murdered him and the boy who accompanied him.

The youth in the negro dress turned out to be a nephew of the
Archbishop, whom the English had made prisoner in the galley which
they took at Navotas, and the officer was bringing him to deliver him
up to his uncle. On the morning of the 28th, a letter was received
from the English general, demanding peremptorily the head of the
officer who fell on this occasion, the body having, the evening
before, been found without the head. He demanded also the author of
this atrocious act, with a threat that if he was not delivered up,
he would send the heads of all the prisoners in his possession. The
Governor replied to this demand by exculpating himself from the act,
pleading the uncivilized customs of the Indians, and throwing the
blame principally on the sepoys, who did not discontinue their fire
on our people even whilst the officer was advancing with the prisoner.

The bombardment now continued with vigour. The enemy had, in the
commencement of the siege, placed three mortars behind the church of
Santiago, to which they added another battery of three more mortars,
which threw the whole city into consternation. On the 29th they fired
against the houses of the Governor and Admiral, but without effect;
the shots which were fired horizontally reaching only to the beach,
and those which they threw by elevation passing over the fort to the
other side.

We on our part mounted two mortars in the bulwark of San Diego, from
whence were thrown shells against the enemy's camp. On the 30th, we
observed from the fort four shallops overset in the surf, with the crew
and troops which they were bringing on shore, and the same accident
happened to a sampan; and in the evening a south-wester freshening up,
a bomb vessel foundered which was advancing against the place. The
wreck of this vessel was discovered near Pasay, of which the Indians
gave information the day following, and the Governor despatched some
cavalry to take possession of it; but having arrived on the spot,
they were repelled by the enemy's fusileers, who made a sortie from
the quarters at Malate in defence of it.

On the 2d of October, at day-break, a battery of eight twenty-four
pounders opened against the angle of the foundery bulwark, and by
ten in the morning the whole of the parapet was a ruin. The enemy
at the same time directed their shells against that battery from
nine mortars of various calibres, assisted by the fire of two ships
in front; and so hot was the fire, that we picked up four thousand
balls of twenty-four pounds. But what incommoded the place most was
the fusileers, who could see from the tower and church of Santiago
all that passed in the city, and they could fire as they pleased
against its defenders. Notwithstanding such a heavy fire directed
against a bulwark without a parapet, only seven men were killed,
and about twenty wounded. Our people endeavoured to get possession of
the church of Santiago and the artillery, but could not succeed. The
ships discontinued their fire about sun-set, but the fire from
the camp continued all night, and dismounted the artillery of our
bastion, so that it became necessary to abandon it: the same night,
or rather in the morning of the 3d, it was resolved that a sortie
should be made from the fort. About five thousand Indians had arrived
from the provinces, of which two thousand Pampangos were selected for
this undertaking; they were divided into three columns, to advance by
different routes; the first, under command of Don Francisco Rodriguez,
was to attack the church of Santiago; the second, commanded by
Don Santiago Orendain, was ordered to throw itself upon Malate and
Hermita; and the third was to attack the troops on the beach, and
was commanded by Eslava y Bastos; the whole to be supported by two
piquets of fusileers. The Indians were no sooner on the outside of the
fort than they began a loud outcry, which prepared the enemy for their
reception; and when the column commanded by Rodriguez arrived near the
English camp, the Indians hesitated to advance; but being urged on by
the famous Manalastas, their chief, they proceeded, and finding the
church of Santiago abandoned, they ascended the tower, and began to
ring the bells; but the peals were of very short duration, for the
English fell upon them, and scarcely allowed them time to retreat.

The other column, which was ordered to advance on Hermita, marched
with the utmost silence until Orendain gave them orders to attack,
when they began with their accustomed howlings and beating of their
drums, and thus threw the English camp into complete disorder. The
English general put his troops under arms, and commenced a fire on
the Pampangas, who were speedily put to flight, and their confusion
was so great that every shot told. Two hundred were left dead on the
field, and Orendain clapping spurs to his horse, was very soon out
of all personal danger. From this time forward he was considered as
a traitor, and after Manila was delivered up to the English, many
were the more inclined to believe this, as he was much seen with
the English, although nothing was actually proved against him. The
third column was more fortunate, as, without having done or received
any damage they retired with more honour than the rest. This action,
however, so intimidated the Indians, that they almost all retreated to
their towns. The fire from the battery did not cease during all this
time, and demolished the whole face and platform of the works of the
foundery, whose ruins filled up the fosse; but what caused the greatest
uneasiness was a battery which the enemy had constructed, and which,
at twelve o'clock at noon, was opened against the works of San Andres
and San Eugenio, and so hot was the fire, that in two hours the guns
were dismounted from their carriages, the parapets thrown down, and
several fusileers and workmen killed, and though new parapets were
twice replaced with timber and bags of sand, they were immediately
demolished. The Governor held a council of war that same evening, at
which were present the staff officers, the Royal Audience, the deputies
of the city, and the prelates. The military men gave their opinion for
a capitulation, the rest were for obstinately continuing the defence,
availing themselves of the usual methods of repairing the works. Orders
were accordingly given to this effect, but they could not be put in
execution, as the few Indians who remained would not undertake such
dangerous work, and the Spaniards could not support the fatigue.

On the morning of the 4th the enemy began to throw carcases into the
fort; they set fire to some buildings, and the soldiers and inhabitants
of Manila were in the greatest consternation. In this state of things,
Monsieur Faller went to the Governor, and endeavoured to induce him
to capitulate, but as he had already incurred the charge of being
a traitor in the first sortie which he made against the English,
and the suspicion had been increased from the circumstance of his
going to the enemy's camp with a present from the Governor to the
English Commander in Chief, the Oidors would not permit him to have
a voice in the matter, suspecting his fidelity. On this account, when
the English left this for the peninsula, he was obliged to accompany
them, from the apprehension that at Manila they would institute some
suit against him. At one o'clock in the afternoon of this day, the
English troops presented themselves before the lines, showing a very
extensive front. The grenadiers were somewhat advanced, and in position
to make the assault. The town on this became in complete confusion,
and many inhabitants, with the clergy, seeing that no capitulation was
in agitation, determined to quit the city, which they could easily do,
as the guard of the Parian gate was composed of the town's people of
Manila. The English maintained their threatening position for some
time, and retiring without making any further attempt, the inhabitants
resumed their tranquillity, and thought no more of capitulation. On
the night of the 4th the fire of the enemy was terrible from the
artillery, the mortars and small arms by land, and principally from
the roof of the church of St. Jago, until two o'clock in the morning,
when it ceased, and was not resumed. From the commencement of the siege
they had thrown more than twenty thousand balls, five thousand shells,
and twenty-five carcases, which ruined a great many buildings in the
city, and set it on fire in five different places. We cannot account
for this otherwise than that the English, to give more splendor and
value to their conquest, resolved on such an enormous expenditure of
powder and ball, for much less would have sufficed to take a place
which was only in a state to defend itself against Asiatic nations,
and not against Europeans.







CHAPTER XIV.

    Of the Capture of Manila by the English, and its Capitulation.


The suspension of the enemy's fire appeared to the Spaniards a
favourable omen, instead of its being considered as a prelude to an
important operation, and no one entertained an idea of capitulation
except Monsieur Faller, who had waited on the Governor at an early
hour, and endeavoured to persuade him to that measure. He there found
the Oidor Señor Galban, who opposed it strenuously, and while they were
in the midst of a warm dispute on the subject, intelligence arrived
that the enemy had entered the city. In fact the English general had
despatched in the night forty Frenchmen, of those he had made prisoners
in Pondicherry, with orders to fill up the ditch with the ruins of the
works, to examine the breach effectually, clear the way as much as
possible, and give due notice of their progress. They performed all
this to his entire satisfaction, for there was no one to interrupt
them, and about six in the morning they made the signal that all was
ready; upon which four hundred men were despatched under the command of
Major Fell, who not being able to mount the breach in line on account
of its steep ascent, they effected it with shouldered arms, and in such
order as they could, apprehending nothing but the springing of mines;
for such silence and tranquillity, in a place assaulted in breach, must
have appeared incredible, except as the result of stratagem. Meeting
with no opposition, Major Fell divided his troops, ordering one half
by the curtain of the sea, and the other towards the royal gate, where
the guard was very quietly enjoying their ease until the centinel gave
the alarm, which was immediately followed by a volley. Thus surprised,
they all took to their heels, and the English redoubling their pace,
they overtook the stragglers, and not one of them escaped. A detachment
filed off from the wall, and opened the royal gate for those British
troops to enter, which approached in that direction. General Draper
entered with his column, with two field-pieces in front, which, with
the incessant fire of the musketry, completely cleared the Calle Real
as they advanced. The same mode of attack was observed by the two
columns, which enfiladed by the city walls, with this precaution,
that in turning the corners of the streets, or public edifices, a
temporary halt was made to observe if there were any of our troops
at hand. The city continued in such a state of consternation, that
the major part of the people thought of nothing but escaping, and as
the gates were shut, they climbed over the wall by the side of the
river, at a place which offered every facility, and by embarking in
boats or swimming, they escaped to the other side. One of the English
columns marching along the wall, when it arrived at this spot, saw
a great many people passing over the river, or waiting to embark,
and discharging a volley at them, made very great slaughter. General
Draper advanced through the Calle Real as far as the palace with
considerable risk, for in Fort Santiago there was a field-piece which
commanded the whole street, and being loaded with canister shot,
might have swept down immense numbers; but the Archbishop, who had
retired to this fort with the Oidors, would not allow them to fire
it, apprehending that the English would afterwards revenge themselves
on the inhabitants of Manila. Colonel Monson, despatched by Draper,
presented himself at the fort, intimating, on the part of his general,
that the surrender of the place was expected. The Archbishop presented
him a paper, containing the terms of capitulation which he proposed,
and requested him to be the bearer of them to his commanding officer
for his approbation. The Colonel declined so doing, having no orders
to that effect, and threatened that hostilities should proceed if he
did not immediately surrender. The Archbishop seeing no other remedy,
and taking the word of honour of the Colonel for his personal safety,
resolved to leave the fort, and accompanied by the Colonel of the
Spanish troops to present himself to the English general, who was by
this time in the palace. On his arrival there he was about to kneel,
but the General, Draper, would not permit him. He then delivered
himself up as a prisoner, and presented the paper, which contained
the terms of capitulation, and which chiefly consisted in the free
exercise of our religion, the security of private property, a free
trade to all the inhabitants of the islands, and the continuation of
the powers of the Royal Audience, to keep order among the ill disposed.

The English General retired to consult on these points, and very
shortly returned an answer accordingly to all of them, with certain
restrictions and additions, which were suggested on the part of his
Britannic Majesty, and the capitulation thus arranged was signed by the
General Draper and his Excellency the Archbishop. The Colonel took it
to the fort, in order to have it counter-signed by the Oidors, which
being done, they immediately delivered up the fort to the English, and
retired to the palace to pay their respects to the conqueror. When the
enemy's ships perceived the British flag displayed on the fort, they
made a most tremendous and confused noise, by repeated cheering, and in
the midst of it a nephew of Admiral Cornish, in his attempt to reach
Manila, was overset on the bar. This expedition cost the English more
than a thousand men, if the diary of the Archbishop may be credited,
which says, "They have not been able to ascertain exactly the number of
killed on the part of the enemy; it is only known by the circumstance,
that in reviewing the troops two days after the taking of the place,
the enemy missed more than a thousand men, of which number sixteen
were officers. Among these was the first major of the regiment of
Draper, who died of a wound by an arrow, which he received on the
day of the assault, and the commandant of the regiment of Chamal,
who was killed by a musket shot while reconnoitring with a glass
from the tower of Santiago. The vice-admiral was drowned coming on
shore in a boat." On our part, a major, two captains, two subalterns,
and fifty soldiers of the regulars, with thirty militia, fell.

Before they delivered up the city to plunder, the English general
ordered all the Indians to be sent away. These consisted of such as
had been collected from the country for the defence of the place, and
of servants or others, who, in the general confusion, found themselves
under no control, and were committing great excesses throughout the
different divisions of the city.

At the request of the Archbishop, guards were placed at the convent
of Santa Clara, and the other nunneries, to prevent the soldiers from
committing any outrages on them. These dispositions being made, the
city was delivered up to pillage, and the soldiers spreading themselves
over the town, plunder and robbery became general, and was accompanied
by those atrocities which are usual with victorious troops, although,
to say the truth, there was no reason to complain of the English
soldiers, as they were sufficiently moderate, in comparison to what
generally takes place on such occasions. The Indians were much worse
than they, for they discovered where the riches of their masters lay,
in order that they might participate in the plunder. The Indians, who
had been sent out of the town, with those who lived in the suburbs,
and the prisoners whom the English had the imprudence to liberate from
the prisons, spread themselves through the quarters of Santa Cruz and
Binondoc, and exercising all the rights of conquerors, plundered them,
murdered all that resisted, ravished the women, and committed every
species of atrocity; but the greatest cruelties were exercised upon
the highways on an infinite number of people, who, flying without
knowing wherefore, fell into the hands of these banditti, and were
with impunity murdered for the sake of what they possessed.

The time allowed to plunder was only three hours, but the following
day it continued as at first, which the Archbishop representing to the
English, and intreating them to have some compassion on the miserable
city, the General gave orders that those found pillaging should be
punished with death, and actually some Chinese were hanged. General
Draper himself killed one, whom he found in the act of robbery, and
he ordered that every thing that had been taken from the churches
should be restored; but some priests' vestments only were found, in
which the seapoys having dressed themselves, had paraded through the
town. On the 6th of October, the English presented to the Archbishop
and magistrates the capitulation, duly arranged, and among other
things they required that Cavite should be delivered up to them. The
Spaniards agreed to this, but the commanding officer of the castle
not being of that opinion, was determined to hold it. The Archbishop
sent the major of that garrison, who had been made prisoner at Manila,
with orders to surrender the fort, as the English had shut the gates
of Manila, and put their troops under arms, threatening to murder all
the Spaniards if Cavite was not given up, and the other articles of
the capitulation fulfilled, which the Archbishop had acceded to. The
major went accordingly to Cavite, openly declaring that it was to
be delivered up to the English: he presented his despatches to the
commanding officer, who called a council of war, but on being informed
that the troops had quitted their posts, and that the Indians were
plundering the arsenal, he embarked in a vessel, and left the major
to make the surrender.

The British also demanded in their terms of capitulation a contribution
of four millions of dollars: this proposition made to a city which had
been just delivered up to a plunder of upwards of twenty-four hours
was tyrannical; but as our people perceived they were at the mercy
of the conquerors, they at last consented to make up two millions in
specie, and draw bills on the royal treasury at Madrid for the other
two millions.

They immediately began to make contributions on the inhabitants; and
the result was, that with all the silver which the pious establishments
could furnish, together with the ornaments of the churches, and the
Archbishop's wrought plate, including his rings and breast cross,
they could only make up the sum of five hundred and forty-six thousand
dollars. The English officer intimated that he would be satisfied with
one million down, and that the rest should be drawn from the cargo
of the Philipino, in case it should prove that the English had not
got possession of her previous to the day on which the capitulation
was signed; even one million, however, could not be raised. The day
before the capture of Manila, a royal messenger had been despatched
with one hundred and eleven thousand dollars, with orders to secure
the money in some place of safety near the Lake Bay. The Archbishop
being hard pressed to make up the million, sent orders to the
Marquisses of Villamediana and Monte Castro to bring that money to
Manila. But on this being intimated to the Franciscan friars, who,
in fact, governed that part of the country, they armed the Indians,
and compelled the officer who had it in charge to convey the money to
the province of Pampanga, furnishing him with Indians to carry it,
who took it over the mountains, and succeeded in securing it from
the English, lodging it in safety with the missionaries of Ytuy,
bordering on Pampanga, Cagayan, and Pangasinan. In the end, every
thing of value which could be discovered, either public or private
property, was delivered up to the English, but notwithstanding there
was much discontent and misunderstanding on this subject.

The principal feature in the capitulation was the surrender of the
whole of these islands to the English, an article in it which the
Archbishop and Oidors were compelled by circumstances to accede to,
though reluctantly; but this was not so easily accomplished, as Señor
Anda was charged with the defence of them, and he was not disposed
to submit without an appeal to arms. General Draper being informed of
this, thought himself justified in availing himself of stratagem. He
issued a proclamation, in which he commiserated the fate of the
Indians, on account of the tribute which they paid to the Spaniards,
giving the assurance that the King of Great Britain would not exact
it of them, and thus endeavouring to excite them to open rebellion. He
then persuaded the Archbishop that he was the proper Governor, and as
such got him to despatch an escort, to induce the Spanish families,
who had taken refuge in the provinces, to return to Manila, and to
appoint an Englishman as Corregidor of Tondo, who had been some time
married and established in Manila. General Draper treated the religious
orders with much respect, and granted permission to the monks to return
to their convents, in order to draw over to his interest this body,
which, from what the Franciscans had done, he judged must have great
influence in the interior of the country. Above all things, he was
desirous of bringing over to his views the Friar Francisco Remigio
Hernandez, who was at the head of the Augustines in the provinces,
in consequence of the recent death of the provincial. He pressed him
repeatedly by letters to come to Manila, but he could not succeed,
that father adhering firmly to his first answer, in which he told him,
that if he had any thing to communicate to him, he might do it in
writing. As General Draper saw that no progress was made in this way,
he ordered the Archbishop to assemble a congress of the principal
people of the city, and to propose to them the cession of all the
islands to his Britannic Majesty; but Señor Viana, the royal fiscal,
opposed it most strenuously. The day following, however, in consequence
of threats held out by the English, the Spaniards had the weakness to
sign this cession. Monsieur Faller, who had been suspected of treason,
conducted himself more honourably, as he would on no account accept
the government of Zamboanga, where the English commander wished to
send him with a sufficiency of troops to take possession, in case they
were unwilling to receive him; and a similar conduct was observed by
a poor but honourable Spaniard, named Don Louis Sandobal.

Unsuccessful in his plans, the English general resolved to return
to Europe. He left Major Fell as military commander, and Drake as
governor, with Smith and Brock as council. Breton was left in charge of
Cavite. When on the point of embarking, he gave orders for two frigates
to be despatched in search of the treasure on board of the Philipino,
and that the Oidor Villa Costa, and the royal Fiscal, should embark
in them, in order that their influence might be exerted in attaining
the object; but on the intimation being conveyed to them they both
declined it, and were in consequence imprisoned. At the request of the
Archbishop, Draper afterwards gave them their liberty, and named in
their room two merchants and two regidores. The frigates sailed, but
were very long in making the island of Capul, where an English Jesuit
was the residing priest. The currents and foul winds contributed much
to retard the expedition, but seeing them determined to prosecute
their voyage, and insisting that a pilot should be given them for
that purpose, threatening they would raise all the Indians in case
of refusal, a Meztizo, in whom the Spaniards could confide, was sent
for that purpose, but he was enjoined to detain the frigates in the
harbour mouth as long as possible. So well did the Meztizo fulfil the
charge given to him by the Jesuit father, that they had time to save
the treasure in the provinces of Albay and Camarines, the galleys which
conveyed it passing in view of the enemy's frigates, which, however,
soon lost sight of them in a squall. The English commander, suspecting
the plate to be placed out of his reach, and in safety, returned to
Manila, where he was ill received by his commanding officer.







CHAPTER XV.

    Of the Defence of the Islands by the Oidor Don Simon de Anda.


On the day before the capture of Manila, Señor Anda quitted the city,
with the title of visitor and lieutenant governor, in order to maintain
the islands in obedience to the King of Spain. He arrived at Bulacan
with forty orders under the royal seal, which were the only supply
of arms and money with which he was furnished, as the treasure had
been sent to the Lake Bay. As soon as it was known in Bulacan that
the English were in possession of Manila, he summoned a meeting,
at which were present the Father Hernandez, who filled the office of
provincial of St. Augustine, the chief magistrates of the province,
and other Spaniards and Augustine friars, and laying before them the
resolutions of the Royal Audience, and the authority with which he was
furnished by the Governor to defend the islands, he at the same time
adverted to the insufficiency of their force to make resistance to the
English. They highly praised all the measures of the Royal Audience
and the Governor of Manila, and promised to spill the last drop of
their blood rather than forsake him. The monks offered to raise troops
in the towns for the service, and conduct them to the field. He gave
them thanks for their loyalty, and thinking that the title of visitor
appeared of too little importance for the undertaking he was upon,
he declared himself under the necessity of having recourse to certain
old established regulations, which ordain that the Royal Audience may
be preserved in the person of one Oidor, and in case of a vacancy in
the government seat, that the Royal Audience may take the government,
and the oldest Oidor command the military, unless any other arrangement
should be made by his Majesty. And on this occasion the other Oidors
and Governor being prisoners of war, and dead in the eye of the law,
all these offices fell of necessity on him. He accordingly got himself
acknowledged as Governor of the islands, in which capacity, joined
to the office of Royal Audience, he circulated his orders to the
different alcaldes and ecclesiastical superintendants of missions,
no one, in the smallest degree, questioning his authority.

Señor Anda fixed his residence, and the seat of government, at the
town of Bacolor, the capital of the province of Pampanga, where he
sent the Augustine friars, accompanied by some troops, some fugitives
from Manila, and some Indian militia: the friars were directed to
watch over the tranquillity and security of the provinces of Pampanga
and Bulacan. Had the English then despatched a small detachment for
the purpose, they would have got possession of those two provinces;
but General Draper was not disposed to think the acquisition of these
islands an object of such difficult attainment as to require such
prompt measures.

The British council left by General Draper in Manila followed his
plans, and convening a meeting of the principal inhabitants of the
city, Señor Anda was declared by this assembly a seditious person,
and deserving of capital punishment. The same censure extended to
the Marquis of Monte Castro, who having been allowed his parole of
honour, had not returned at the appointed time, and likewise to the
provincial of Saint Augustine, who had joined the party of Señor
Anda: all the Augustine friars too were declared traitors. At this
meeting much discussion took place on the subject of making up the
deficiency of the million in specie which had been stipulated for,
but the Spaniards replied, that with what had been taken in the
Trinidad, which, according to the articles of capitulation, was
not to be deemed a prize, the amount had been made good, and the
religious establishments pleaded that they had been stripped of all
their valuables.

The English council forcibly recommended, that the friars should
impress upon the Indians the necessity of peaceable conduct under the
novelty of their situation, as otherwise their interference with them
would be totally interdicted. But the prior of St. Augustine being
urged to use his influence with the friars of Bulacan and Pampanga,
answered, that they were not under his authority, but under the
provincial, who was his superior. For this guarded reply he was ordered
to be confined in his convent; and although he in person represented
to the council that he ought not to be considered as a prisoner of war,
having come to Manila under a protection granted by them, they refused
to listen to him, but ordered him to be escorted back to his convent
with bayonets fixed, leaving a guard to prevent his quitting it.

The English perceiving that decrees were of very little service, and
that it was necessary to have recourse to force, determined to take
possession of a position on the Pasig, in order to open a passage for
provisions from the Lake Bay; and Thomas Backhouse, whom the Spaniards
called Becus for that purpose, filed off with five hundred men to the
left of the river. He arrived in front of Maybonga, where the famous
Bustos was stationed with his Cagayans, ready to defend the passage
of the river. He fired upon the first English party that advanced,
but as soon as they returned it, he retired to Maraquina with his
people. The enemy passed the river without hesitation, and sent an
officer with a white flag, to summons the Indians to surrender. The
boasting little Governor answered, that the Pasig was not Manila, and
if the Spaniards had given that up to them in a treacherous manner,
he would defend his post to the last; adding, that should the officer
return with the white flag (a trick he might deceive children with),
he would hang him on the first tree. This reply being reported to
Backhouse, he immediately ordered the troops to march, and the two
field-pieces he had with him beginning to play, the Indians became
alarmed to such a degree, that they fled precipitately. Such, indeed,
was their hurry and confusion at the bridge near the convent, that
numbers of them were drowned.

The English got possession of the convent without resistance, and
pursued the Indians as if they had been a flock of goats as far as
the river Bamban, which they swam over, at least all those who had
the good fortune to escape the enemy's bullets. The King of Jolo,
attempting to defend a post occupied by his family, was obliged to
surrender. The English fortified this post, and maintained themselves
in it till the peace.

By this time Señor Anda had collected some troops, which he was enabled
to maintain with the money which had been saved in Pampanga. Bustos,
in the capacity of his lieutenant-general, paraded the province
of Bulacan, making an ostentatious display of the power of Señor
Anda; and the Pampangan Indians, commanded by a Franciscan and an
Augustine friar, advanced to Maysilo, about two leagues distance
from Manila, idly expecting that Bustos would support them under
all circumstances. The English sallied out to dislodge them; and
our Indians formed an ambuscade, in which they hoped to succeed
by counterfeiting death, when it was said that many of the enemy
fell; but a friar asserted, that by means of a glass he had observed
from the Tambobon tower that the Indians only let fly their arrows,
and immediately made the best of their way. Certain it is that the
English burnt Maysilo, and re-entered Manila with their field-pieces,
without any diminution of their numbers.

The Augustine friars still remained prisoners in their convents,
although sometimes permitted to leave them, but restricted within the
walls of the city. A counter order, however, was very unexpectedly
issued, depriving them of that indulgence. It was thought that the
English had recourse to this method, to compel them to deliver up the
money, which, it was said, they had secreted. Persevering, however,
in their firmness, they were accused of a participation in the plans
of the Augustine friars of Pampanga, who favoured the views of Anda,
and twelve of them were embarked for Europe, of whom, however, one
was liberated at the request of the Archbishop.

The remaining friars being embarked, the English entered the convent,
and stripped it of every valuable. They found six thousand dollars
in coin in the garden, together with the wrought silver they had hid
during the treaty for the million. The reliques of the Saints even
were not spared, and were torn down, in order to carry off the cases
which contained them. Before the vessels sailed in which the friars
were embarked, the British commander determined upon an expedition
against Bulacan, in the expectation that this would finally close the
undertaking, and enable him to sail for Bombay and England. The convent
of Bulacan was in some respect fortified with three small guns and six
falconetes, and there were in it some artillerymen, and many Indians
with bows and arrows. It was the object of the English, of course,
to dislodge these troops, for which purpose a squadron sailed on the
18th of January, 1763, under the command of Captain Eslay, of the
grenadiers, who arrived with about six hundred men, ready for action,
many of them Chinese, who followed the English. Their intention was
to enter the bar of Binoangan, but being prevented by contrary winds,
they proceeded to that of Pumarava, close to Malolos. The following
day they arrived there, and coasting for two leagues by the marshes
they arrived at Malolos, where they effected the landing without
any impediment whatever, for the troops which we had there retired
precipitately, the Indians to their houses, and the Spaniards to the
convent of Calumpit. Whilst the English were marching to Bulacan,
Bustos sallied out to reconnoitre them, and seeing they were superior
to him in numbers, he returned to the convent, persuading the alcalde
mayor and the Franciscan friar who commanded there, to burn the convent
and retire; but unable to succeed in his object, he retreated with
his people. The English force arriving in sight of the convent, our
people did much mischief by means of a cannon loaded with case-shot,
which commanded the street, and as the Chinese composed the vanguard,
they alone suffered, and that severely. The English commander ordered
his field-pieces to be pointed at this gun; and so correct was the
aim, that the head of Ybarra, who commanded there, was carried off,
which so appalled the Indians, that they fled in a most tumultuous
manner; the consequence of which was, that the gates being forced,
the enemy entered sword in hand, and an indiscriminate slaughter took
place. The alcalde mayor and the Franciscan friar (who was the head
of the clergy there) fell in this action, and of two Augustines one
escaped, and the other being taken, was, with all the Indians found in
the place, delivered up by the English to the Chinese, who murdered
them in cold blood, in revenge for the death of their countrymen
during the attack. Having got possession of Bulacan, the English
commandant despatched the principal part of his force to Manila,
remaining with three hundred seapoys only. Bustos and Eslava advanced
against him, and though they brought with them eight thousand men,
all Indians, six hundred of whom were cavalry, they were not hardy
enough to attempt to dislodge him; and they contented themselves with
cutting off his communications, and giving him occasional alarms. The
English commandant having sent some small parties against them with
little effect, he sallied out in person, with the major part of his
people, and made our troops run in a most dastardly manner, under the
apprehension that he would pursue them to the province of Pampanga;
but he did no more than cut down the underwood, which served as an
ambush for the Indians, and then returned to the convent.

Bustos, as soon as the English retired, returned to occupy his old
position; but from this he was a second time dislodged as shamefully
as at first. This kind of warfare, however, was very useful; for the
English commander, not daring to advance far, obtained permission from
the British council to retire from the position, which he executed
in an orderly manner, without any interruption from our people,
having first burnt the church and convent of Bulacan.

Admiral Cornish now determined to return to the peninsula, but before
his departure, he ordered the remaining two millions to be raised and
paid in, threatening to give the city, and its suburbs, up to plunder
a second time, if his requisition was not complied with. This gave
the Archbishop excessive uneasiness, and he did not rest until he
persuaded him to take an order on the treasury of Madrid. Señor Anda,
in consequence of the death of the alcalde of Bulacan, appointed Bustos
governor of that province, continuing him as his lieutenant-general,
and ordering him to raise troops, and teach them the manual exercise,
while the inhabitants in the neighbourhood of Manila, with the monks,
contributed arms, lead, and other articles of war, exciting, at the
same time, desertion from the city, and expecting by all these means
to enable Anda to form a respectable body of troops, with which he
might confine the English to Manila, and possibly drive them out of
it. A French serjeant, named Bretaña, favoured much the desertion
of the Frenchmen, which the English had brought with them of those
they captured in Pondicherry; and he himself having also deserted,
Señor Anda made him a captain.

The Spanish regulars, too, who had been made prisoners in Manila,
deserted very generally, and at a public entertainment which the
English gave, many of them escaped through a small breach in the fort,
whilst the attention of the enemy was otherwise engaged.

In order to check this spirit of desertion, Admiral Cornish confined
all the Frenchmen, and the Spanish regulars, to the side of the town
next the sea, using every precaution in his power to prevent Señor
Anda from receiving any succours from the town and its suburbs. In
consequence of these precautions, many were caught in the act of
absconding, and friars and secular clergy formed a large portion of
the number. In that number were Señor Viana, the fiscal, and Señor
Villa Corta. This latter, whilst a prisoner, very incautiously wrote
to Señor Anda, and gave a man fifty dollars to convey the letter. The
guard intercepted the money and letter; and a council of war was held
on him, which sentenced him to be hanged, and his four quarters to
be exhibited in the public places. Having accordingly confessed,
and prepared himself for his fate, the Archbishop obtained his
pardon, on condition that Señor Anda would retire from Pampanga to
another province. The Archbishop and Villa Corta wrote to Señor Anda,
supplicating him to accede to the proposal of the English, in order
that that magistrate might be saved from the ignominious death which
awaited him. He replied to Villa Corta, lamenting his situation,
but refusing to accede to his application. To the Archbishop his
letter was of so shameful a nature, that the English having perused
it, ordered it to be burnt by the common hangman, not permitting the
Archbishop to read it.

This mode of saving Villa Corta's life having failed, he availed
himself of other means, and for three thousand dollars paid down,
the sentence pronounced against him was remitted.

During these transactions in Manila, the commanding officer of Pasig
(Backhouse) had gone to the provinces of the Lake and Batangas, in
order to intercept the money of the Philipino, which, it was said, was
on its way thither. He left his position on the Pasig with eighty mixed
troops, arrived at the bar of Tagui, and removing the sampans (which
our people had grounded on the bar to prevent his passage), he entered
the Great Lake, and proceeded to Tunasan; from whence dislodging the
troops which had fortified themselves in the government-house, he
plundered it of every thing. He did the same in Biñan and Santa Rosa,
where he embarked for Pagsanhan, the capital of the province of the
Lake. As soon as our people perceived him, they set fire to the church
and convent, and took precipitately to flight. Backhouse returned
to Calamba, and entering the province of Batangas, he traversed it
completely, making prisoners of some Augustine friars, who had the
direction of that province; and in the town of Lipa he got possession
of three thousand dollars, which some Spaniards had secreted there. In
this town he took up his quarters, in expectation of the money being
landed from the Philipino; but he shortly after understood that
it had been secretly ordered away by sea to the opposite coast of
Santor, a town of Pampanga, by which precaution the money was saved;
and Backhouse, being woefully disappointed of his booty, returned
to Pasig. Señor Anda, by the possession of the Philipino's money,
was enabled to collect a respectable force; all the Spaniards who had
retired from Manila, and lived in misery, enlisting under his banners,
to procure pay and subsistence. This force being appointed and rendered
effective, he ordered his Lieutenant-General, Bustos, to form a camp
at Malinta, a house belonging to the Augustine friars, a league and
a half from Manila. The officers took up their quarters in the house,
and the soldiers pitched their tents around. This disposition of the
encampment being made, to strengthen it some redoubts and palisadoes
were constructed by the Serjeant Bretaña, who had been promoted to
a company, and was apparently the most intelligent of the whole of
them. From this place our people made excursions to the outskirts
of Manila, and on one occasion they took the horses from the coach
belonging to a dignified clergyman. On another occasion, the English
commander himself had nearly been taken by them. One night Bustos sent
a piquet guard to get possession of the bells of the town of Quiapo,
close to the walls of Manila, in order to be cast into cannon, which
were much wanted; and so alarmed were the English, that they sent
out one hundred fusileers, and fifty horse, with an immense number
of Chinese; but notwithstanding this, after an action of an hour and
a half, the piquet succeeded in bringing off the bells. The English
finding themselves very weak, and rather alarmed at these incursions of
the troops of Malinta, called in all the piquets which were without the
city, and dug ditches, in order to cut off the communication, and have
a less extended line to cover; and in a manifesto which they published,
ordering the Spaniards to retire within the walls of the city, out of
the range of the artillery, which they were obliged to keep playing
against these Malinta troops, to prevent their surrounding them,
they bestowed on these troops the appellations of canaille and robbers.

On the 19th of May, 1763, Señor Anda published in Bacolor
a counter-manifesto, in which he complains that the English put
the guns they took in Bulacan under the gallows, in contempt of the
magistrate from whom they had taken them; that they called the King's
troops robbers and canaille; that they had promised five thousand
dollars for his head, dead or alive; and in consequence of all this,
he declared Drake and his colleagues, Smith and Brock, tyrants, common
enemies, and unworthy of human society, offering for either of them,
alive or dead, ten thousand dollars. The English council replied to all
these charges in a manifesto, in which they complain of the conduct of
the Spaniards; but as a paper war was of little avail in furnishing
them with the provisions they were deprived of by the interruption
occasioned by the Malinta troops, they resolved to dislodge Bustos,
and with the greatest secrecy despatched three hundred and fifty
fusileers, fifty horse, together with a great number of Chinese,
to convey the necessary guns and ammunition. The English made this
sortie on the 27th of June, and arrived at the river, in front of
our post, before day-break. As soon as our people discovered them
they began to form, but before we were prepared the fire with their
field-pieces commenced, the Spaniards answering with five small guns,
followed up by the musketry; but neither daring to pass the river,
they were expending their powder to no purpose until eleven o'clock,
when the English retired in good order to the King's house at Maysilo,
where they remained until it was understood that Bustos had burnt
Malinta house, and removed his camp to Meycavayan. They then retired
into Manila in the evening. On our side we had two killed and seven
wounded, of which five afterwards died; and of the enemy there
were thirteen wounded, of which five or six died afterwards in the
hospital. The Indians of Caloocan intercepted some people conveying
provisions to the English camp; and another party of Indians made
prisoners a party of Chinese, who had strayed for the purpose of
plunder. These were the last actions of this war, for on the 23d
of July an English frigate arrived with the preliminaries of peace,
and a cessation of hostilities of course took place.







CHAPTER XVI.

    Of the internal Commotions raised by the Indians and Chinese
    during the War.


The provinces of Tondo and Cavite, during the war, were in
general in a state of tranquillity, submitting patiently to
the law of the strongest, but still retaining their bias to the
King of Spain. Notwithstanding which, however, many robberies and
irregularities occurred, and even murders were perpetrated; for those
who had been released so imprudently from prison by the English,
joining with others who had been thrown out of employment, or whose
inclinations led that way under the shelter of such a convulsed
period, committed great atrocities, with impunity, on such Spaniards
and Mestees as had quitted Manila, and were scattered about the towns
and country; and these disturbances at last attained such a height,
that regular parties were formed, which infested the highways, and
plundered the estates, even murdering, in some instances, the poor
ignorant peasantry, till eventually this class of people, wearied
out by such attacks, abandoned their farms, leaving their cattle and
effects in the power of these wretches.

In the province of Batangas, one of the principal inhabitants of the
town of San Pablo collecting a body of Chinese and Indians, murdered
the friar, in revenge for some supposed injury. Even the commandant
of the troops in the town of Rosario, having collected some of those
whom the English had liberated from prison, satiated his fury on the
resident minister, (who had complained that he was not allowed the
number of servants which the King ordered) by setting fire to his
house in the first instance, and murdering him in the act of escaping
from the flames.

Another party in this province was commanded by a mulatto, who styled
himself a King. His first attack was on Liyan estate, belonging to
the Jesuits, upon which were some Spaniards and monks, who made terms
with him on his granting them their lives, and delivered up the house
to be plundered. Some of his people went to rob the prior of Tanavan,
who was an Augustine, and had retired to the granary in order to avoid
the English; but finding on him only two rials, they murdered him in
a most cruel and wanton manner.

In the province of Lake Bay the Indians made many attacks on the
Spaniards, who had retired to that country, particularly on the
alcalde mayor, with whom they had before been on very bad terms, and
on the monks, because they had favoured the conveyance of the money
to Manila, which the Franciscan friars remitted to Señor Anda. The
Archbishop issued an order, in which he desired that if the English
went into that quarter they might be well treated, and not to make
any resistance to them, as, by that conduct, less mischief would be
done. The alcalde sent this order over the mountains to Pagsanhan,
but the officer commanding there issued a counter-order to that of
the alcalde, designating him as a traitor, who wanted to deliver up
the province to the English. The alcalde being informed of this,
contrived to put him in confinement, and had him publicly whipped
under the gallows. This enraged the Indians, and collecting in
considerable numbers, they attacked and ill treated the alcalde's
family; they killed his cousin, his son in law, and a German who
lived with him, and they took the alcalde himself to the gallows,
where, after flogging him most cruelly, they stabbed him to death.

The aggressors presented themselves before Señor Anda, suing for
pardon for this offence; and he not deeming this a proper season to
show due severity, let the matter pass unnoticed.

The provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga firmly adhered to their
allegiance, and, indeed, were the only districts on which the Spaniards
could place reliance, although there were not wanting some malicious
spirits, who, taking advantage of the times, by menaces extorted money,
robbed and plundered the estates, and even murdered a poor Dominican,
who resided at Pandi. These, however, were the crimes of individuals,
and not chargeable on the body of the people: it may therefore be said,
that these provinces, which were in the immediate neighbourhood of
Manila, were tranquil, and preserved their allegiance to the Spaniards.

Although the Señor Arandia had sent away all the Pagan Chinese,
others replaced them after his death, and the augmentation of their
numbers which took place in three years was incredible. There were
besides many Chinese Christians in Parian, and scattered over the
provinces, and almost all of them declared for the English. The moment
they took possession of Manila, these Chinese gave them every aid,
and accompanied them in all their expeditions. They had it, indeed,
in contemplation to make a general rising, which would have caused
much bloodshed had it not been discovered in time, for it was their
plan to murder Señor Anda and all his people in Bacolor church,
on Christmas eve, 1762; and by committing every description of
outrage in the churches that same night, they expected to render the
Spaniards incapable of resisting the English, with whom they had a
secret understanding.

The authors of this most atrocious scheme were the Chinese of the town
of Uava, in the province of Pampanga, where many of that nation had
fixed their residence, and fabricated a species of cannon which they
made of large cane, well tied together with tarred rushes, and which
bore two or three discharges. They deceived the officiating clergyman
of the town, telling him they were preparing all those things against
the English, but Señor Anda had his suspicions of them. In this state
of things a poor simple Chinese, who was going to marry an Indian
of a village, called Mexico, advised Señor Anda not to go to mass,
and in the end discovered all the plot. The Indian girl likewise
made a full discovery to the Augustine curate of that town, and he
communicated her story to Anda, who went to Uava with some troops on
the 23d of December.

The Chinese went out to meet him in two detachments, with their
cane guns, by a discharge of which one of his people was killed; the
Spaniards returned the fire, and obliged the Chinese to retire to the
convent. Señor Anda sent a Spaniard to propose an amicable arrangement
with them, but, blind and obstinate in their rebellion, they refused
it. Our people then advanced, seeing they must have recourse to arms,
and made an immense carnage among them; many of them likewise were
taken alive, and hanged next day in Bacolor. Señor Anda gave orders
that those who escaped should be tried for their conduct, in whatever
part they were found; but having found some letters which proved that
they had an understanding with those of Parian on the subject of these
commotions, he ordered that all the Chinese in the islands should be
hanged, which orders were put in execution very generally, but where
the order had been disregarded, he readily overlooked the omission.

In the province of Cagayan the disturbances had commenced as soon
as the capture of Manila was known, and in the town of Yligan, the
Indians, whom we call Timavas, had flogged the commandant of the
place. They presented themselves to the chiefs, who were appointed
receivers of the royal revenue, declaring themselves no longer
tributary to the Spanish government: other towns followed their
example, and the rebellion thus gained ground. The chiefs called in
the aid of the infidel Indians, and some skirmishes took place; but
not being able to succeed in reducing the insurgents to submission,
they applied to the fountain head, imploring the assistance of the
Spaniards. Don Manuel de Arza had just arrived in the province with
the title of Captain-general of the three provinces of Cagayan,
Ylocos, and Pangasinan (the two latter being likewise in a state of
insurrection); and collecting a number of loyal Indians and some
Spaniards, he overpowered the rebels, hanged the ringleaders, and
restored tranquillity in the province. His presence being no longer
necessary in Cagayan, he went to Ylocos, where sedition had taken a
still deeper root. Diego de Silang, an Indian, very quick and artful,
and who being a native of Manila, spoke the Spanish language well,
began to revolutionize this province, by telling his countrymen,
that in order to maintain the Catholic faith, and to preserve the
country in obedience to the King, it was requisite to join together
and arm against the Spaniards, and deliver them up to the English,
against whom they had no means of resistance. These specious arguments
made an impression on the minds of the chiefs, and many plebeians,
particularly those of Bigan, which is the capital of the province,
and residence of the Bishop. The seduced Indians presented themselves
armed, and demanded that the Alcalde should give up the staff of
government, and deposit it in the hands of the Vicar-general. The
majority advised the Alcalde to defend himself against this attack;
but instigated by his fears, or swayed by the opinion of injudicious
friends, he resigned the command to the Vicar-general, and with
no inconsiderable share of hazard of his life, effected his escape
from the province. Emboldened by their success in this instance, the
rebels demanded of the Bishop elect, Señor Ustariz, a Dominican, an
exemption from the tribute, declaring that they acted justifiable in
deposing the Alcalde. The Bishop pledged himself to lay before Señor
Anda a favourable representation of their claims; but Silang being
determined on acquiring the command, and little satisfied with what
he had done, began to collect troops for more extensive operations.

The house of the Vicar-general was too well fortified for the rebels
to attack it, but they presented themselves armed on the hills in the
vicinity. The Vicar-general ordered the loyal Indians to assemble
at Bigan, armed and accoutred, from whence the whole sallied out,
and surprising the rebels, they took some of them; but discontinuing
the action too soon, and separating in their usual unsoldier-like
manner, they thus gave the rebels an opportunity to rally, and a day
or two after they set fire to and burnt down part of the city. The
Indians from the south, who came to the defence of the town, seeing
it in flames, returned, as did those of the north, by which means the
rebels were enabled to take possession of the Vicar-general's house,
and the arms it contained.

Silang, rendered vain by these successes, despatched emissaries towards
the north, who, raising all the native towns, committed many robberies
and atrocities, directing their vengeance in particular against some
of the chiefs and Augustine friars, insisting on its having been
their fault that the tribute had not been abolished; but in the end
their avarice prevailed, and they agreed to accept a consideration in
money by way of ransom for their lives. The authority of Silang being
acknowledged by the towns of the north, his emissaries proceeded to
those of the south, directing each of them to name a chief as their
representative, who was ordered to Bigan, where their powers were to be
ratified. By this means he levied considerable sums of money. In a few
days he found himself master of the whole province, and he appointed
Jesus of Nazareth to be Captain-general of it, he himself assuming the
title of his Alcalde Mayor for the protection of the Catholic religion,
and of the dominions of the King of Spain. He published a manifesto,
which breathed the true spirit of Christianity; always wore his rosary;
and obliged the Indians to hear mass, ordering them to confess, and to
take care that the children went regularly to school. In the midst of
all the sepious actions, he, by means of his emissaries, robbed the
estates of cattle, and obliged the proprietors to ransom their lives
with money: he levied a sum of one hundred dollars from every friar,
but reduced the fine to eighty dollars, on the petition of one of them
who had formerly done him favours. Under the pretext of defending the
province from the English, he had centinels placed in all directions,
with a view to prevent information being conveyed to Señor Anda
of what passed. An Augustine friar, however, contrived to forward
a despatch to that effect; but Señor Anda having scarcely troops
enough to defend himself, merely sent an order to Silang to present
himself at Bacolor in nine days, to give an account of his conduct,
under the penalty of being considered as a traitor, and arrested, for
which purpose he threatened to send a force to Pampanga, if necessary.

This order was published, accompanied by many vague reports that the
Spaniards were coming against Ylocos; in consequence of which, and
the friars refusing to grant absolution to the rebels, many of them
deserted from Silang, particularly those of the northern towns, and on
this account many of the clergy were made prisoners and conducted to
Bigan, although Silang very soon liberated them; for he still affected
to respect the Catholic religion, whereby he deceived the clergy, and
many Indians who put confidence in him. This rebel had sent to Manila,
as a present to the English, two junks, loaded with various effects,
which he had plundered in the provinces. A letter accompanied this
present, in which he acknowledged the King of Great Britain to be
his legitimate Sovereign, and offered to deliver up the province
to them. The English government sent a vessel bearing despatches,
and a present to Silang, and conferred on him the title of Alcalde
Mayor, which he directly made public, to the great regret of the
Indians, who had urged him to deliver them from the English, and now
saw themselves subjected to them under the orders of the despot,
Diego Silang, who exacted from them contributions, and subjected
them to more vexations than they ever suffered before; at the same
time that they no longer dared to express their sentiments. As the
chief magistrate of the English, and in their name, he ordered some
soldiers whom he had raised from the mountaineers of other provinces,
who had taken refuge at Ylocos, to make all the friars prisoners;
and that there might be no resistance on the part of the towns,
he promised them that the English should send them other clergy to
administer the sacrament to them. The monks, who were Augustines,
made no resistance, and with all possible despatch joined their Bishop
in the convent of Bantay (which is merely a short walk from Bigan),
waiting the ultimate determination of the tyrant. The Bishop declared
Silang excommunicated; and he, pretending to be sensible of his error,
granted permission to some of the clergy to return to their towns;
but they had received intelligence of arrangements he had made for
murdering them all, and that he was in expectation of the arrival
of some infidels from the mountains to execute his wicked designs,
for the Indians not only refused to lay their hands on the clergy, but
were determined to die with them. They all prepared for death, without
further hopes than what arose from the intentions of the principal
Indians, who were making dispositions to come to their assistance;
but this was delayed so long, that a Spanish mestizo, named Vicos,
presenting himself to the Bishop, said, "Señor, I am going to make
an end of that vile Indian; give me your benediction, that I may
go and kill the tyrant." He went out of the convent, accompanied
by Captain Buecbuee, with a blunderbuss in very bad condition, and
reaching the house of Silang, discharged the contents in his side,
which caused his immediate death. In consequence of this his party
became completely broken and dismayed, and the same evening the bells
were set a ringing, and the evening service sung, to the satisfaction
of all, and in the midst of exclamations of "Long live the King of
Spain!" The Bishop wished to appoint Vicos chief justice, but the
latter advised him to name Buecbuee, who had a considerable party, and
could therefore the better overawe any ill disposed persons. The friars
immediately returned to their towns, and through their persuasions,
seconded by the authority of Don Manuel Arza, who had just arrived,
they tranquillized such as were in any way discontented. The death
of Silang happened the 28th of May, 1763, and he had commenced his
rebellion the 14th of December, 1762.

The most obstinate rebellion of the Indians was that in the province
of Pangasinan. The sedition broke out at the town of Binalatongan on
the 3d of November, 1762, in consequence of the Alcalde Mayor having
sent a commission to collect the royal tribute. The news spread over
all the towns of the province; a general request was made that the
tribute should be remitted, and that the Alcalde Mayor and judges of
the different towns should be replaced by others. About the end of
November arrived Don Antonio Panelo at Pangasinan, with the title
of lieutenant-general, and with orders from Señor Anda to confine
the Alcalde, who was a creature of the Archbishop, and suspected
of tampering with the English, although nothing like this was ever
proved. As soon as Panelo arrived, the revolted Indians presented
themselves, demanding that the tribute should be abolished, and that
the Spaniards should quit the province. The latter were fourteen in
number, with muskets and pattereros, and the Dominican friars advised
them to defend themselves against this mob; but they were alarmed
at their numbers, and abandoning the province, the Indians continued
their rebellious proceedings.

The Dominican friars assembled in the town of Asingan, and wrote to
their respective parishioners that they would forsake them if they
did not submit to the King of Spain; the result of which was, that
the Indians came from all quarters, supplicating them to return to
their towns, and promising to go to Pampanga to beg of Señor Anda,
an Alcalde Mayor; however, they performed none of their promises,
so that our Governor and Captain-general was obliged to send troops
to reduce them to subjection. Don Fernando Araya went out with
thirty-three Spaniards and four hundred Indian archers; they took
with them five hundred cartridges, which was all the ammunition that
could be spared, in consequence of the scarcity of that article at
Pampanga. These troops arrived in Lent time at the river Bayamban,
on the opposite bank of which the enemy had entrenched themselves
with some cannon and pattereros. The firing commenced on both sides;
our people passed over the river, took the entrenchments, and put
the Indians to flight, although they were ten thousand in number,
and followed them up a short distance; but before they expended all
their cartridges they thought proper to retreat, which they did in
good order; on our part four Spaniards and four Indians were killed,
whose heads the rebels carried off to the towns, where they amused
themselves with dancing, according to their custom, and became bolder
than ever. The Dominican friars, in endeavouring to escape, often ran
the risk of their lives; some were, however, enabled to get away,
but those who remained were obliged to refuse the sacrament to the
Indians, and for which they intended to murder them, until the voice
of the women, as also of those who had not entered into the rebellion
by choice, prevailing, it was resolved to spare their lives. To
add to all their troubles, those poor friars had the additional
regret to find their fidelity suspected, merely because they were
not murdered by the Indians. Miserable, indeed, was the situation of
the missionaries in those times; if they abandoned their duty they
were blamed, because it was said the flame of rebellion became more
extended; and if they remained among them, and were not killed by
the Indians, out of respect, or because they wanted a confessor in
the hour of death, they were deemed accomplices in their crimes.

The Dominican friars completely vindicated their honour by means of
their discourses, and by the aid of the Bishop Ustariz, who, having
tranquillized the inhabitants of Ylocos, came to give his assistance
in the pacification of the province of Pangasinan. The rebels were
in some degree quieted, and, at last, were induced to proceed to
Pampanga to solicit an Alcalde Mayor of Señor Anda. They were very
kindly received, their former crimes were pardoned, and he gave them
Azevedo for their Alcalde, who took possession of his magistracy on
the 5th of December, 1763.

Señor Azevedo was not long in discovering that the flame of rebellion
was only smothered, and not extinguished; and he gave information
to Señor Anda to that effect, requesting him to send a force to keep
the deluded in awe. Señor Anda despatched one hundred and eighty men
from his camp to Pangasinan, and gave orders to Don Manuel Arza to
extirpate the last remains of the rebellion from Ylocos, that he might
form a junction with the troops going to Manila under command of Don
Pedro Bonardel. As soon as the rebels knew that troops were going
from Manila, they assembled tumultuously in the town of Calasiao,
where the Alcalde was with two Spaniards and two Dominican friars in
the convent. The Indians besieged them, but they defended themselves
with their muskets; and the rebels not daring to make an assault on the
convent, chose the alternative of setting it on fire. The unfortunate
party besieged had no other resource but to take refuge on the tower
of the church, with the little provisions they could find at hand,
where they maintained themselves five days, until our troops learning
their unfortunate situation made a forced march to their assistance,
routing the rebels in their way.

Bonardel pursued his march to Lingayen, the capital of the province,
and putting every detachment of rebels to flight which came in his
way, he fortified that town, and was joined by Don Manuel de Arza
with a body of Indians which he brought from Ylocos, both by sea and
land. Bonardel leaving the remainder of his people in Lingayen, took
fifty men, and went to St. Fabian to liberate the Bishop and some
Dominicans, whom the rebels detained as prisoners; he routed them,
and although they had possessed themselves of the passes, he managed
to join the rest of the army.

In the beginning of the year 1764 nobody opposed our authority in the
towns, the rebels had retired to the mountains, taking with them the
friars who were not able to join the Spaniards: each troop of rebels
had its particular chief, and the rebellion could not be quelled
merely by one battle. It was therefore determined upon to distribute
detachments over the country, and subdue it in detail. They proceeded
by hanging the leaders of the mutiny as they took them, pardoning
the great mass of their followers; but they were so very obstinate,
that although sensible they could offer no resistance, and that it
was easy for them to obtain a general amnesty, they still continued
in rebellion, nor was it effectually quelled till March, 1765. On our
side we lost in this expedition seventy Spaniards, and one hundred and
forty Indians, and of the rebels more than ten thousand perished. Many
of the rebels too died of hunger, or passed over to other provinces,
and the first enumeration that was made of the province after the
rebellion, it was found that twenty-six thousand nine hundred and
twenty-seven persons were deficient of the proper number, composing
nearly half the population. All the other provinces of the islands
were restored to tranquillity, and maintained in their allegiance to
the King of Spain, under the orders of Señor Anda.







CHAPTER XVII.

    Of the Restoration of Manila by the English at the Peace,
    anno 1763.


On the 23d of July, 1763, an English frigate arrived with the
armistice which had been agreed on by the powers of Spain, France,
and England. In any other part of the world hostilities would have
ceased, and the chiefs of the contending parties would have been
anxious to exchange reciprocal civility and kindness the moment
such intelligence was received; but in the Philippines, such were
the misunderstandings which had arisen, that the armistice which
in Europe had been carried into effect, was here of no avail. The
English commander acknowledged no other governor than the Archbishop,
and to him he communicated, in the usual form, the contents of his
despatches from his court. The Archbishop transmitted them to Señor
Anda, who replied, "That in a matter of such importance and delicacy,
the English commander ought immediately to have made him acquainted
with it, without the intervention of his Excellency." On the 27th of
August, an English vessel arrived with the preliminaries of peace,
and the British council directly handed over the despatches to Señor
Anda, sealed and directed to the Commander in Chief of his Catholic
Majesty's arms; but because the addition of Captain-general of the
Philippines was omitted, he would not receive it, observing, that
being without the corresponding titles, it might be doubted whether
the despatches were intended for him.

The British commander, to establish the authority of it, published a
manifesto on the 19th of September, pointing out the line of conduct
he had observed to Señor Anda, in order to procure a cessation of
hostilities as soon as he received the preliminaries of peace, and
which, he stated, had been forwarded to him by the prime minister,
signed by the British and Spanish ambassadors, and he declared Señor
Anda responsible for the blood which might be spilled in consequence
of the measures he adopted, so contrary to those laws of humanity
which had induced the European powers to sheath the sword. Señor Anda
replied to this manifesto by another, published in Bacolor the 28th of
September, in which he set forth that he had not been made acquainted
with the preliminaries of peace in due form; that as Governor he had
not been treated as such, but in that character he should answer the
English manifesto, by protesting that the continuation of hostilities
could not be imputed to him, but to those who, pursuing a line of
conduct little conformable to the orders of their sovereign, had
indirectly impeded their execution.

From this moment, however, the English allowed greater latitude to the
prisoners in Manila; and Señor Villa Corta, who was considered in that
light, availed himself of the indulgence to conceal himself in the
house of Don Tomas Dorado, from whence he escaped in a coach under
a female dress, and embarked for Pampanga. Señor Anda received him
with great affability; and as a mark of his friendship and affection,
he left him in Bacolor to transact some matters of business for him,
and departed for the camp, in order to transfer it to the town of
Polo from Maycavayan, where he had taken up his quarters since the
battle of Malinta. In his absence the Archbishop being taken ill,
the question was agitated who should be Governor in the event of his
death, and Señor Villa Corta observed, that he thought it fell to him,
as being senior Oidor. This conversation was not so secret but Señor
Anda became acquainted with it, and without waiting to remove his
camp to Polo, he left proper instructions, and returning to Bacolor
he retorted on Villa Corta, who endeavoured to exculpate himself,
by pleading that it was merely conversation, and undeserving serious
notice: his enquiries and solicitude terminated in discovering that
Señor Galban and the royal fiscal were of opinion that Senor Ustariz,
Bishop of New Segovia or Ylocos, ought to succeed to the government,
in case of the death of the Archbishop, conformable to the recent
orders of his Majesty. Señor Anda was anxious to obtain the opinions
of the various parties in the islands, and consulted Señor Matos,
Bishop of Camarines, and the provincial clergy on the subject. Señor
Matos returned him for answer, that the subject was quite foreign to
his profession, and that it was the province of the Royal Audience to
decide the point, and that he, as a good subject, should acquiesce in
that decision. The provincial friars of St. Augustine and St. Domingo
answered him in nearly the same terms; but the provincial of the
Jesuits and the Franciscans told him, that in the then situation of
the islands he alone could preserve the public tranquillity, and on
that account he ought to retain the supreme authority. This diversity
of opinion was not very gratifying to Señor Anda, and although the
troops were in his favour, he was by no means desirous of having
recourse to violence. This induced him to submit so far as to take
the opinion of the British commander, and he accordingly wrote to
him from Bacolor the 2d of November, 1763.

Major Fell, who commanded the English troops, had at this time quitted
his command, with the view of proceeding to London, to complain of
certain proceedings respecting Monsieur Faller, who was ordered for
execution by Admiral Cornish, on account of letters written by him to
the commandant at Batavia, in which he termed the admiral a pirate and
robber. Governor Drake protected him, and kept him in the hall of the
Royal Audience. Fell demanded him, and the Governor refusing to deliver
him up, Fell took with him a file of grenadiers, and repaired to the
palace. Ascending the staircase, he met the Governor coming down, when
an altercation took place, and Fell snatching a fusee from a grenadier,
was in the act of bayoneting the Governor, when one of his own soldiers
prevented him, and took the musket from him. During this disturbance on
the staircase, the grenadiers went to the hall of the Royal Audience,
took Faller, and carried him on board ship. Major Fell, in consequence
of this, embarked for London, in order to complain of the Governor,
and Don Thomas Backhouse took the command. To him it was that Señor
Anda wrote, complaining bitterly of the vexations which the English
soldiers had given to his soldiers, and finished by observing, that if
he meant to write, he must address him by the titles and in the style
due to his rank. Backhouse replied by disclaiming the ground of his
complaints, as they referred to a period when he had not the command;
and in regard to the government of the islands, he pleaded ignorance
of our statutes and laws, but he said he saw, with great grief, strong
symptoms of civil war, which threatened the desolation of Manila as
soon as evacuated by his Britannic Majesty's troops. Señor Anda well
knew that the English would not acknowledge any other Governor than
the Archbishop, and began to spread suspicions that the preliminaries
of peace were forged by the English Governor, who found himself driven
to extremity by the incursions our people made from the camp of Polo,
and which occasioned a scarcity of provisions in Manila.

The English adhering to the resolution of committing no act of
hostility, and keeping on the defensive, only endeavoured to procure
their provisions in the provinces. With this view they sent to the
province of Batan a sloop, with a very few people, to the town of
Orion, and taking refuge in the convent, they purchased what provisions
they wanted. Señor Anda hearing of this, sent troops against them:
the Indians assaulted them through the kitchen, and surprised them, but
they saved themselves in the sloop by the negligence of the officer who
commanded, and who arrived too late with the rest of the people. In the
river Pasig also our people made them abandon two vessels which were
going to the Lake for provisions, and they took a galley from the very
door of the store-houses. In this manner did the two nations continue
their hostilities until the 30th of January, 1764. On this day the
Archbishop died, oppressed in mind by the miseries he saw the people
suffer, and the many inquietudes his employment occasioned him at a
moment of such calamity. His Excellency was guilty of only one material
error during this war, and that was his engagement to pay four millions
to the English, and deliver up the islands to them. It would have been
better to have surrendered at discretion than with conditions so hard,
and out of his power to comply with: it must be remembered, however,
in his justification, that he granted them with the bayonet at his
breast, and that the Spaniards who were with him signed the same terms.

Immediately after the funeral of the Bishop, Señor Anda received
despatches, by way of China, from his Catholic Majesty, communicating
the conclusion of peace with the English, to his Governor at Manila;
he informed the English commandant of it, offering a suspension of
hostilities, and requesting them to take measures for delivering up
the place. The English assented to this, and sent to the town of
Tambobon the chief engineer, Stevenson, accompanied by Don Edward
Vogan as an interpreter, who had been at St. Joseph's College, and
returned to the islands with this expedition as a pilot or guide. On
our side was appointed Don Francisco Salgado, with his interpreter,
Don Geronimo Ramirez. Their respective powers being produced, they
entered on the negociation; but all was reduced to mere squabbling,
Salgado exaggerating our strength, which, he said, was equal to the
capture of Manila, to which the English officer very archly replied,
by asking why they did not take the fort on the Pasig, which was
scarcely in a state of defence? Nine days were thus wasted, and
nothing concluded on. While under these circumstances, an English
vessel arrived, with orders to evacuate the place, and the negociation
ceased. This occurrence served to revive the old disputes relative to
the succession to the government, and receiving the place from the
English. Señor Villa Corta had his supporters, and Señor Ustariz,
who had the greatest right, did not want for partizans. Señor Anda
had in his favour the circumstance of having defended the islands, and
having prevented the English from advancing to the northern provinces;
and, above all, he commanded the troops, who were attached to him, and
this served to check the pretensions of the others. Most fortunately,
at this time, arrived at Marinduque, in the Santa Rosa frigate,
Don Francisco de la Torre, despatched by the Viceroy of Mexico as
the King's Lieutenant. Señor Anda sent him a galley, on board of
which he embarked and came to Bacolor, where Señor Anda, with much
honour and disinterestedness, resigned the government into his hands,
conformable to his Sovereign's orders, on the 17th of March, 1764.

Señor Torre sent to Backhouse and Brereton, his Britannic Majesty's
commanding officers at Manila, the despatches, by which he ordered
the evacuation of Manila, and they replied, that they were ready to
deliver up the place to him in form. He took possession of a house in
Santa Cruz, placed a Spanish guard, with advanced centinels, as far
as the great bridge, where the advanced guard of the English was,
and a friendly communication took place. Governor Drake felt hurt
that he had not been consulted on these proceedings, and ordered the
Spanish Governor to retire, or abide the consequences. Brereton and
Backhouse ordered the troops under arms to arrest the Governor for
sending such a hostile message, as the sincerity of both parties was
unquestionable. Drake heard of it, and escaping from the city with
his suite, embarked on board the frigate and put to sea.

The terms were concluded in an amicable manner, and the day was fixed
for giving possession of the place, for which purpose Señor Anda came
with the troops which he had in Polo; and Señor Torre being indisposed,
he received the town from the English, placed the Spanish guards at
the gates, and hoisted the Spanish flag on the fort of Sant Jago,
in the midst of salutes of artillery.

The English commander, before he quitted Manila, published a manifesto,
in which he desired any person who had cause of complaint against the
late government to apply to him, and he would do him justice. Señor
Villa Corta presented himself, and demanded the repayment of the
three thousand dollars he had paid, to redeem the sentence of death
passed on him. Brereton ordered them to be returned, observing, that
if the sentence was just, it ought to have been put in execution,
and not be commuted for money; and if unjust, the restitution of the
sum was highly proper. The provincial of the Jesuits claimed a sloop
which Governor Drake had requested of him, and which he had given
gratuitously for the service of the King of Great Britain; but the
Governor having appropriated it to his own use, he now requested it
might be returned, or four thousand dollars paid for it, which was
the sum it was valued at. This was immediately paid him: various
other demands were made of less magnitude, which Brereton satisfied
with justice and equity.

At the instance of the English chiefs, our government published
a manifesto, in which a pardon was granted to the Chinese who had
joined their party, although some of the ringleaders, not confiding
in the manifesto, went away with the English, as did also Faller and
Orandain, who were under apprehensions, if they remained in Manila,
that they would be beheaded as traitors. Orandain, in his retreat,
passed over to Tonquin, and having landed, the natives rose on him, in
consequence of some excesses which had been committed by the sailors:
they attacked him, and being unable to gain the boats in consequence
of waiting for his daughter, whom he had married to an Englishman,
and who was on shore with him, both he and his daughter were murdered,
thus atoning for the crimes with which he was charged.

Manila, Cavite, and Pasig, being delivered up, Brereton embarked and
went to Mariveles, where the transport ships were waiting for him;
and having despatched a packet-boat with the King of Jolo to restore
him to his throne, he set sail for India.

The religious orders had co-operated very considerably with Señor Anda,
in enabling him to maintain the Indians of the respective districts
in obedience to his orders, by inspiring a horror of the English as
enemies of the King and their religion, exciting them even to die
in fighting cheerfully against them; likewise offering their houses,
estates, and riches, and finally exposing their own persons to very
imminent risks. All of them exerted themselves uniformly to this end,
for which they jointly and individually were honoured with the thanks
of his Majesty for their distinguished loyalty; but the Augustines
suffered most, for as Señor Anda retired into the provinces of
Bulacan and Pampanga, which these friars governed, they supplied
him with recruits and with provisions. They exhorted the Indians,
and even forced them, to serve against the English, and to be ready,
at all times, to obey orders. The enemy knew that without this resource
Señor Anda could not have acquired the means of resistance; and finding
that the Augustines gave him every aid, they were declared traitors,
eleven were arrested, and carried away to London and India. All were
made prisoners whom they could lay their hands on, and confined in
the dungeons of the fort; and they would have been taken away to
sea if the preliminaries of peace had not arrived. They plundered
a second time their convent; they sold the bells and the library;
and a person was even found to purchase the building; in short,
every thing they had was confiscated. When Manila was delivered up,
in order to repossess themselves of their convent, it was necessary
for the provincial to make a contract to pay ten thousand dollars
for it, in case the courts of Madrid and London should confirm the
confiscation of their property. The British court approved of the
conduct of the English council, and, in virtue of its sentence,
an Englishman went to Madrid to receive the ten thousand dollars;
but our court not consenting to pay this sum, considering it a mere
imposition, the English threatened that another opportunity they
would make up the loss; but this dispute, as also that respecting
the four millions which the Archbishop promised to pay, is buried in
oblivion long ago, and was fully covered by the millions sacrificed
in the treaties respecting Nootka Sound, and the whale fisheries on
the northern coast of America.

All these services of the Augustines to Señor Anda were, however,
thrown away, for some of the individuals of their body in the disputes
which arose on the succession after the death of the Archbishop,
attached themselves to the party of Villa Corta; and consulting their
provincial, they replied to Señor Anda, that it was their opinion
the dispute ought to be decided by the Royal Audience, and that their
decision should be final. So disgusted was he by this determination
of the Augustines, that he not only forgot all the services they had
rendered him, but on his return as Governor, under some frivolous
pretence, he sent soldiers to Pampanga, confiscated their property,
and put the whole of the order in confinement at Manila, substituting
Indian clergy in their room.

His Majesty considered attentively all the services the Augustines
had rendered in Manila, and ordered that all their property should
be restored to them, together with the province of Pampanga; but when
this order arrived, the furniture of the poor monks was already rotten
in the store-houses, and the friars themselves having been driven
into other provinces or dead, were unable to avail themselves of his
Majesty's kindness, and take possession of the province of Pampanga
thus allotted to them by his decision. To all which, if the desolation
caused by the war is added, the friars will be found to have suffered
the most severe losses, and which they have yet scarcely been able
to retrieve.

Señor Torre being recovered of his indisposition, which was probably
only assumed, in order to afford Señor Anda the opportunity of
entering triumphantly into Manila to receive it from the English,
as many suspected was the case, he went to reside at the palace, and
began, by degrees, to restore order, and to repair the various ravages
occasioned by the war. He made arrangements for tranquillizing the
province of Pangasinan, and conducted the government with sufficient
ability until the arrival of his successor, Field-Marshal Don Joseph
Raon; but the occurrences during his and the succeeding government
are of too recent a nature to be committed to the press with that
candour which the fidelity of historical record requires.







                                EXTRACT

         From Monsr. Sonnerat's Voyage aux Indes et a la Chine.

                          Vol. III. Chap. 10.

                                 OF THE

                       PHILIPPINES AND MOLUCCAS.


These Archipelagos have been already noticed in my Voyage to New
Guinea; but I have, since that period, had occasion to make some
further observations, equally new as necessary.

I follow M. le Gentil in giving the position, latitude, and seasons
of the principal of these islands. This judicious observer has made
a particular study of the subject, and his work appears to me correct.

The Philippines and Moluccas are commonly divided into two distinct
Archipelagos; but, in my opinion, all these islands in reality form but
one; and if they were all under one Sovereign, they would, doubtless,
be comprehended under one designation.

The Philippines are attached to the crown of Spain, and the Dutch
possess the Moluccas. These last are more deserving of consideration,
and richer than the first. They owe their fertility to the industry
of a nation laborious, commercial, and addicted to cultivation. Every
thing, on the contrary, in the Philippines, indicates the indolence
of a people who direct all their efforts to religion, and whose sole
object seems to be to acquire proselytes.




OF THE PHILIPPINES.

The Philippines extend from the 3d or 4th, to the 19th or 20th degree
of north latitude. They comprehend a great number of islands, which,
for the most part, are very little known. The principal, and those
on which the Spaniards have establishments, are Luçon, Mindoro,
Panay, and Mindanao. Next, in point of extent, are ranked Palawan,
Buglas or Isle of Negroes, Zebu, Leyt or Leita, and Samar. To the
east of Zebu is the little island of Mactan, where Magellan lost his
life. Exclusive of these there is a multitude of small islands.

Luçon lies to the north of all the others: it is likewise the largest,
being not less than 450 miles in length, and about 85 at its least
breadth. The Spaniards have upon this island established Manila, the
capital of their settlements in the Archipelago. Its advantageous
position for the commerce of China, and that of other parts of
India, ought to render this city the richest in the world; but what
Spaniard would occupy his time in the pursuit of transitory riches,
which must be acquired by the assiduities of commercial industry,
and at the expense of his national prejudices?

Manila lies in 40° 30' N. latitude. The climate is nearly the same
as that of Pondicherry and Madras; the town is large and well built;
the houses are handsome, and the streets in straight lines. There are
several superb churches. It is fortified, and is situated upon the
bank of a considerable river, which washes its walls, and communicates
through the island of Luçon in every direction. The country which
surrounds it is fertile, and adapted to every species of cultivation;
but in the hands of the Spaniards it lies an useless waste. They have
neither availed themselves of the position of the town, or of the
fertility of the surrounding soil; they allow it to exhaust itself,
and bear of its own accord crops which they will not be at the trouble
of getting in. Even the law, which ought to lend its aid in support
of the cultivator of the soil, is at Manila inimical to his views,
and the exportation of that abundance which nature holds out to man
is prohibited. The treasures of the earth exceed the wants of the
limited number of inhabitants in this island, and they are allowed to
perish on the soil which gives them birth. The consequence is, that
should it happen in any year that a variable atmosphere, hurricanes,
or a wet or dry season, should substitute scarcity for abundance,
the most dreadful famine would be the lot of a country which ought
never to feel the effects of it.

Such is the general ignorance, such their indolence, their blind
and culpable confidence in Providence, that the extent of their
cultivation, and the collection of their produce, is limited to their
immediate wants. The most horrible misery is often the result of this
perilous security, so much at variance with the benevolent views of
nature. Common animal instinct teaches us to provide for the future,
but the Spaniards cannot boast of even this foresight.

It is computed that there are about 12,000 Christians in Manila. The
population of this city was formerly much more extensive while it was
resorted to by the Chinese. Many of that nation were settled there,
and others were engaged in commercial intercourse; but a bigoted
Governor, under the influence of a wretched policy, absolutely drove
them out of the island. Commerce and the arts immediately declined,
and have never since recovered. Misery and depopulation have been
the fatal consequences of this mal-administration.

Vessels do not anchor abreast of Manila; the mouth of the river is
interrupted by a bar, which is very dangerous in stormy weather. Small
vessels, however, may enter, and their cargoes are discharged at
Privateer harbour. Such vessels as are obliged to winter at Manila
retire to the port of Cavite, situated in the bottom of the bay to
the S. E. and three leagues distant from Manila.

Cavite is provided with a fort, which is not in a state to resist
the attack of an European enemy. It is constructed on a tongue of
low land, which the sea threatens with submersion; its harbour is
not sheltered from the north and N. N. W. winds; and it is infested
with a species of worm which attacks vessels, and soon renders them
unfit to keep the sea. Another great inconvenience is, that water is
procured at a great distance; and for this purpose it is necessary
to employ the flat-bottomed boats of the country, which are alone
capable of penetrating sufficiently far up the river. Three parts of
the town, little considerable in itself, are occupied, like all the
Spanish possessions, by convents; the suburbs are called Fauxbourg
Saint Roch. It consists of a collection of houses, built of bamboo,
and covered with palm leaves; but there are in it, however, the ruins
of a church which appears to have been sufficiently handsome. The
Indians, who joined the English in 1762, destroyed it, and that which
was formerly held in such respect is now become a shelter for cattle.

The Spaniards have many religious establishments in the island of
Luçon. It might be averred, that it never was their intention to plant
colonies, for they have only sent monks, and appear to have had no
other end in view than the propagation of the Catholic faith. The
people, therefore, who have submitted to the Spanish yoke, scarcely
exhibit any traits of a polished nation. Languishing in inactivity,
they are without energy, and appear equally indifferent to virtue as to
vice. Indolence, a dereliction of life and timidity, constitute their
character, and misery is their habitual state; but there are districts
to which the Spaniards have been unable to penetrate. In vain have they
tried to subdue those who have retired thither; in vain applied force,
severity, and punishment, to subjugate and convert them. These people
have escaped from the yoke by removing themselves to defiles where
the Spaniards cannot attack them: they have carried with them into
the retreat they have chosen the recollection of the injuries they
have suffered, and of those with which they have been threatened;
they nourish, in the extremity of their asylum, an implacable hatred
against the strangers, whom they consider as the oppressors of their
native land; they incessantly meditate on, and prepare the means
of revenge. Supported by their courage, animated by their hatred,
they dare approach even the gates of the capital: their progress is
marked with pillage, murder, devastation, and rape; they even live
at the expense of such of their countrymen as have submitted; they
carry off, they tear from them the support of a miserable existence,
which these latter have neither the strength nor the courage to defend.

There is, besides these, in the mountainous parts, a description of
people absolutely in a savage state; they shun the face of man, they
even shun each other; they are solitary wanderers; they stop when night
overtakes them, and take their rest in the hollows of trees; they are
strangers even to domestic life. The invincible propensities of nature
are alone capable of bending their stubborn character, and impelling
the men to satisfy themselves with such females as chance throws
in their way, and towards whom desire is the only attraction. The
inhabitants of the island of Luçon call themselves Tagals, as do
likewise all the inhabitants of the Philippines--they appear to
derive their origin from the Malays, and exhibit features of their
character--their language, though different from that of the Malays,
has its pronunciation and its sweetness. All these islands seem to
be inhabited by the same people, among whom their customs alone have
been subjected to change. In Manila, such has been the intercourse
with the Chinese and other nations, that they have become a mixed race.

The Manilians are of a swarthy complexion, large and well made; their
dress is composed of a shirt of a kind of linen made of the filaments
of the abaca, a species of palm; this shirt is very short, and is
worn over a large and wide pair of drawers: but their greatest luxury
consists in handkerchiefs, with red borders, of the finest quality;
of these they usually wear three, one on the head, one on the neck,
and the third is held in the hand. The English manufacture them at
Madras expressly for their consumption.

The women wear a kind of little shift, which scarcely reaches to
the navel, with a handkerchief loosely covering the neck; a white
linen cloth encircles the body, and is fastened by a button at the
waist: they throw over this a coloured stuff, manufactured by the
inhabitants of Panay. Over all is worn a mantle, for the most part
black, which covers the body from head to foot. Their hair, which
is black and highly beautiful, sometimes reaches to the ground:
they bestow the greatest care on it, anoint it with cocoa-nut oil,
plait it in the Chinese fashion, and, towards the crown of the head,
form it into a knot, fastened with a gold or silver pin. They wear
embroidered slippers, so very small that they only cover the toes.

The houses of the Indians of Manila are constructed of bamboo, covered
with palm leaves. They are erected on pillars of wood, at the height
of from eight to ten feet from the ground, and they ascend to them
by a small ladder, which is drawn up every night. The custom of thus
raising their houses to this elevation, has for its object their
protection from the humidity of the soil; but that of drawing up the
ladders, by which they mount to them, has in view their security
against ferocious animals, and those of their neighbours who live
in a savage state. Their bed is, for the most part, a simple mat,
spread on the floor.

Their food is rice, plain boiled, which they eat either with salted
fish, or by putting into the water in which it is dressed a spice,
which takes off its insipid taste.

There are many lakes in the island of Luçon; the most considerable is
that called by the Spaniards Laguna de Bay. The river, which washes the
walls of Manila, flows out of this lake, and thus a communication,
by means of boats, is open to its surrounding shores. This lake
is about 30 leagues in circumference, and about 120 fathoms in
depth. In the middle of it is an island, which holds out a refuge
to some Indian families. They live by fishing, and preserve their
liberty by prohibiting the approach of strangers to their asylum. This
lake is bounded on the west by high mountains; the level country is
fertile, and is inhabited by a people of gentle manners: they employ
themselves in manufacturing matting, cloth, and different fabrics,
from the abaca. Perhaps the first monks who were sent to convert them
were attracted there by the mildness of their character.

The Spaniards, in supplying them with a religion, have left their laws
unaltered; in fact, their ancient usages are retained, and they are
governed by an Indian of their village, nominated, however, by the
Spaniards, and whose authority they acknowledge.

This people, though of a mild character, treat crimes with severity;
the greatest, in their opinion, is adultery, which is the only one
punished with death.

Eastward of the lake there are immense plains; large and deep rivers
traverse them, and spread to a great distance a natural fertility. This
country might be the residence of a numerous population, which might
live happy in the cultivation of it. Only a few villages, however,
are to be seen scattered here and there; miserable dwellings,
inhabited by men devoid of honesty, without justice, who, in a
constant state of warfare, entertain mutual fear of each other, and
who, instead of laws, of the protection of which they are ignorant,
place their security in their arms; these they never quit, they hold
them in readiness in approaching each other, and the intercourse
they have together less resembles a social act than a state of
perpetual warfare. Even the rights of blood afford no security:
parents, brothers, wife and husband, live in constant distrust of
each other, and, consequently, in a state of reciprocal hatred. The
origin of manners, so far removed from the mild character of their
neighbours, may be found in the mode adopted for their subjection,
and the recollection of those punishments they have been exposed to
by the priests, in compelling them to adore the cross.

There are many volcanos in the island of Luçon, which, it is most
probable, is the cause of the frequent earthquakes to which it is
subject; not a year passes without two, three, or four. The Spaniards
of Manila construct their houses accordingly; the whole is of wood,
and raised on wooden pillars; but to guard against such visitations
they are provided with a small apartment made of bamboo, placed in
the court or garden. There the whole family sleeps, when the state
of the atmosphere seems to indicate an earthquake.

It has been well observed by M. Gentil, that the earthquakes appear
to occur more frequently at the end of the year, and most commonly
in the night-time. I witnessed two in the month of December, 1770:
the first was violent, and threw down many houses; it was announced at
nine o'clock at night by a strong southerly wind, which considerably
agitated the sea; the atmosphere became charged with a reddish vapour,
and in two hours time I felt three successive shocks, which produced
in me a kind of sea sickness. The vessels in the road were sensible
of the motion, and thought they had struck. The Spaniards employed
themselves in chaunting the rosary.

From the volcanos proceed springs of warm water, which are in
great abundance in the island of Luçon; to some are attributed even
marvellous properties, particularly to those of Bailly, situated
on the borders of the lake of Bay. The King has had an hospital and
public baths constructed here.

The trade of Manila might be very considerable, and this city become
one of the richest and most commercial in all Asia. The Spaniards
themselves might proceed to China, Cochin-china, India, Bengal,
Surat, and even to the Isle of France, from whence might be drawn the
commodities they stand in need of either for their own consumption,
or for carrying on the commerce to Mexico; they might take with them,
in exchange, the produce of the islands: but the Spaniard, naturally
slothful, is more disposed to enjoy his indolence, which he denominates
tranquillity, than export the productions of his country; a species
of traffic necessarily accompanied with some degree of fatigue.

The government has prohibited the admission of any foreign vessels
into their harbours. All the French navigators, who have been desirous
of establishing an intercourse, and who have touched at Manila for
commercial purposes, have been always received very ungraciously; and
privateers, from an ill-judged combination against them, have uniformly
sustained great losses there on their prizes. The difficulties which
have been thrown in the way of the unloading and loading of vessels,
have thoroughly disgusted the merchants of the Isle of France; a
commerce, nevertheless, which might be rendered equally advantageous
to both nations.

The only vessels admitted at Manila are those of the Chinese and
Indians, on the pretence that these people may thug be made converts;
these are the vessels which import into Manila the articles of absolute
necessity and of luxury, and take in exchange the piastres brought
by the galleon from Acapulco.

The commodities which might be drawn from Manila are cordage, pitch and
tar, linen cloth, rushes, rotin, indigo, rocon, achiote, and rice. The
cotton is of the finest quality, and might be made an important article
of exportation to China, where many cargoes of that commodity are
sent from Surat, on which the gain is sometimes an hundred per cent.

The sugar cane thrives well here, and yields a sugar superior to
that produced at Batavia. There is likewise found here the bark
of a tree, which answers as a substitute for cinnamon, but to the
taste of cinnamon it adds a little tartness: its bark is thick and
porous, and the tree deemed a bastard cinnamon. The Spaniards barter
it with the Chinese, but they set very little value on it, as the
same species is found in Hainam, in Tonquin, and in Cochin China,
from whence they import it. Another production is the wild nutmeg,
but having no flavour, it is on that account not merchantable. It is
small, and the tree which bears it has leaves a foot long; the same
species is found at Madagascar.

Tobacco succeeds well here; the chiroutes of Manila are in high
repute all over India for their agreeable flavour; even the ladies
smoke them all day long.

The cocoa of Manila is considered as superior to that of America;
it is the only tree whose cultivation is attended to in all the
Philippines, because so much use is made of chocolate. It is the
general beverage, and is presented as refreshment on visits: cocoa,
as well as tobacco, are not indigenous in the Philippines; they were
imported from New Spain.

Wax might likewise be procured from Manila, the mountains swarming
with bees which produce it.

There is a great deal of gold found in all the rivers, a sufficient
proof that there are mines of that metal; the Indians will earn
fifteen pence a day by washing the sands for it.

Iron is found in its native state, but mixed with some other metal,
which renders it softer than ours. They work it exactly as it is
found. There is likewise abundance of loadstone, and considerable
quarries of marble from whence that is procured, with which the
churches are decorated.

The Spaniards have but a few insignificant establishments on
Mindoro. All travellers have asserted that the inhabitants of this
island have tails, but this idea rests on no other ground than that
of the Coccix being a little elongated.

The principal establishments of the Spaniards, in the island of Panay,
are Ilo-Ilo and Antigue; there is no good anchorage on the island of
Panay but in this latter place.

Antigue is in 6° 42' N. latitude; the anchorage is six fathom, at a
good distance from the land. Vessels cannot take the benefit of this
anchorage in November, December, and January, but with great risk,
as, during that period, the south-west and west winds blow right
on the coast, and render the sea tempestuous. Water for shipping is
procured at a small rivulet, situated to the north; there is a much
more considerable river, which serves as a ditch to the fort, and
along which boats may proceed a great way; but its water is brackish
even at neap tides. The inhabitants of this island, more industrious
than those of Luçon, manufacture handkerchiefs and cloths from cotton,
and the fibres of a plant which the country supplies; the coarsest
description is used for clothing, and with the finer they trade with
the neighbouring islands.

In other respects Antigue resembles the rest of the
Philippines. Indulgent Nature is prodigal of her gifts, of which the
inhabitants make no attempt to avail themselves, for the government
uses no means of protection against the ravages and cupidity of the
Moors, who incessantly harass and carry off even the fishing-boats
from the bay: this is only protected by a wooden fort, garrisoned by
about twenty Christian natives.

This island produces a great deal of grain, but little fruit;
cocoa and plantains, of a bad quality, are alone sought after by the
inhabitants. There is a great number of stags, wild boars, and wild
hogs; buffaloes, horned cattle, and horses, are so common, that no
attention is paid either to their safety or to their propagation;
the horses wander about at their pleasure; they are public property,
having no particular owner: when a horse is wanted, the first that
appears is seized, and he is turned loose again when he has performed
the requisite service.

The air of the whole island is unwholesome, from the want of
cultivation, and the frequency of marshes. It is supposed to contain
many very rich gold mines.

The Spaniards have many factories on the coasts of Mindanao, which
support a precarious existence only by a constant state of warfare
with the innumerable Kings reigning in the island, not one of which
will acknowledge the Spanish dominion.

Sambouanga forms the chief establishment of the Spaniards on this
island; it is situated on the southern coast of it. According to
our observation, it lies in 120° 13' long. and 6° 54' lat. differing
considerably from the observation of Mr. Gentil, who places it in 7°
20' lat. apparently after some bad Spanish charts.

The Spaniards have constructed a considerable fort, with stone and
brick, and capable of the defence of the bay. The inhabitants are
placed within a palisade, abutting on one side to the fort, and on
the other to a small wooden battery of 14 guns, which commands the
environs of the town.

Sambouanga costs the King of Spain a great deal, and makes no
return. This post was established for the purpose of checking
the incursions of the Moors of Jolo on the neighbouring islands;
notwithstanding which these latter are not a whit less frequent
in their visits to the bay of Antigue and that of Manila, carrying
off not only the fishing-boats which fall in their way, but vessels
richly laden. They are even daring enough to attack the inhabitants of
Sambouanga; they land out of the range of the guns, and harass them
close to the palisade; these unhappy beings are thus prevented from
quitting their houses; they cultivate the land under the protection
of cannon, of which they are compelled to avail themselves of several
pieces in such fields as they are desirous of tilling.

The soil is fertile, and requires little culture; it produces rice
abundantly. The cattle are very numerous, and of little value. The
King having turned some loose upon an immense plain which adjoins
the settlement, they have multiplied to such a degree, that when
I was there they were estimated at six thousand. A wooden fort,
of eight guns, has been constructed in the middle of the plain to
check the Moors. Upon another plain, separated from this by a chain
of mountains, the Spaniards have turned horses and cattle, which have
likewise increased prodigiously; both plains are bordered by a thin
wood, full of stags and wild hogs. The rivers, as is the case in the
island of Luçon, produce a great deal of gold.

A particular species of cocoa is found at Sambouanga; the tree
which produces it differs in no respect from that with which we are
acquainted; its fruit has the same form, but is a little less in size;
the husk is not of a fibrous consistence like that of common cocoa,
the flesh of it is analogous to the artichoke; it has its flavour,
and, perhaps, we assigned a greater degree of delicacy to it, because
we had not the means of comparing them: if this fruit is allowed to
grow old on the tree, it changes its nature, and becomes stringy;
in this state its taste is tart, and the cocoa is no longer fit for
eating. I carried six to the Isle of France, but they did not succeed.

There is a volcano on the south side of Mindanao which burns
incessantly, and serves as a landmark to vessels frequenting this
navigation.

The island of Jolo, or Sooloo, seems to be the point of demarkation
between the Philippines and the Moluccas. The Dutch pretend that it is
a dependency on the Moluccas; and the Spaniards are so much persuaded
it is one of the Philippines, that they have repeatedly attempted an
establishment there; and not having succeeded by mild measures, they
have endeavoured to render themselves masters of it by force. Every
attempt has failed: the Jolois have never been induced to acknowledge
but their own sovereign.

The English have had a factory on a small island to the east of Jolo,
but they have been obliged to abandon it.

The French have attempted to form an establishment there. The King of
the island, as a proof of his friendly intentions towards the nation,
had even desired the French flag. I believe, however, there was
good reason for not persevering in the attempt, as, sooner or later,
the adventurers would have been the victims of the inhabitants, who
are naturally warlike and fierce, though under the government of a
good prince.

It was under the administration of M. Poivre, at the Isle of France,
that a kind of alliance was formed between the French government and
the Sultan of Jolo. M. Poivre had had some intercourse with this
Prince, the most powerful of all the sovereigns in the Philippine
Archipelago; and he had availed himself of it, to direct to that
island the first expedition in search of the spice plants, under the
command of M. de Tremigon. The Frenchmen attached to this expedition
were hospitably received at Jolo. Alymudin, the Sultan, not only
offered them his aid in the conquest, but a considerable territory
in his dominions.

Jolo is only a small island of 30 to 40 leagues in circumference:
it notwithstanding merits the attention of the European powers, on
account of its being so well adapted for the cultivation of spices,
and generally for commerce.

It produces a great many elephants; amber is found there, and
there is a pearl fishery. Its harbour is a retreat for the Moors,
who piratically infest these seas, distress the navigation of the
Spaniards, and carry off in their incursions the colonists, of whom
they make slaves; the coast is furnished with fish sufficient for the
daily food of the inhabitants; here likewise are gathered the birds'
nests so highly esteemed by the Chinese.


Statement of the Productions of the Philippines, transmitted to the
French Minister in 1776.

Gold is found every where, but more abundantly at Gapan, in the
province of Pampanga. The provinces of Pangasinan and Cagayan produce


Lead.
Copper.
Iron.
Sulphur.
Excellent Sugar.
Indigo.
The Achiote, a tree, the seed of which is used for dying.
Cotton, of the best quality.
Oil of Cocoa, in abundance.
Wood Oil, equally abundant.
Oil of Louban, a species of fruit.
Oil of Aonpoly, an agricultural production.
Ginger.
Camphor.
Areka Nut, in abundance.
Cocoa, in abundance; from this is made a beverage, the consumption
of which is very great.
La Nipe, in abundance, of which likewise a beverage is made.
The Barro Oyesca, a species of the amadon, or tinder made of the
large fungus which grows on trees.
Pitch and Tar, in abundance.
Cocoa Nuts, ditto.
Pepper.
Betel.
The Cinnamon of Sambouanga, very good.
Cowries.
Tortoiseshell.
Mother of Pearl and Pearls, often of a very fine quality.
Deer Skins, Ox and Buffalo Hides.
La Balate, both white and black, first, second, and third sorts,
which forms a considerable branch of trade to China.
Dried Prawns, likewise a considerable article of trade.
Birds' Nests.
Wax, in abundance.
Honey, in abundance.
Musk, or Algalia.
Deer and Ox Sinews, for the commerce with China.
Fine Goimon, dried in the sun for ditto.

Woods and Timber.
    The Cocoa Tree, which produces the St. Ignatius' bean, or bean
    of Cathalonga.
    Red Campechy Wood, first and second sorts.
    Eagle Wood.
    Ebony.
    The Narra, or red veined ebony.
    The Tindato, entirely red.
    Sandal Wood, not much scented.
    Fir Trees, in the mountains of Pangasinan.
    The Molaven, not subject to decay.
    The Quijo,
    The Banava, for building.
    The Calantas, or Cedar.
    The Laguan, or red and white apple-tree.
    The Palo Maria, for small spars.
    The Mangue Chapuy, for lower masts.
    There is besides these an infinite variety of different kinds of
    woods, which we pass over in silence.

Lompotes, a kind of gauze manufactured at Zebu, and which is in
general use in the Philippines and in New Spain.
Sail Cloth of cotton, manufactured in Ylocos.
Testingues, a kind of checked dimity, much worn.
The Abaca, a species of hemp, of which cordage is made.
The Black Gamuty, used for the same purpose.
The Banoté, or Coyar, applicable in the same way, and of which is
likewise made oakum for caulking.
The Tobacco is excellent.
The Corn in the provinces of Ylocos and Bay excellent.
Rice excellent, and in great abundance.


There is likewise a trade carried on with the Chinese in the flesh
of deer, oxen, buffaloes, and horses, dried in the sun (called jerk
in South America), as likewise in the tallow of all these animals.




OF THE MOLUCCAS.

The Moluccas form a considerable archipelago, which extends in
longitude from Java to New Guinea. On the coasts of Papua, and
adjoining islands, are formed colonies of the inhabitants of New
Guinea, and which are dependencies on the Moluccas. The Dutch have
factories in all the islands of this archipelago, but at Amboyna
and Banda they have forts, and considerable establishments [1]. In
order to preserve the spice trade exclusively, they even went so far
as to set fire to the adjacent islands which produced these shrubs;
but such precautions are useless, for the whole of the Moluccas,
with the coasts of Papua, and even all New Guinea, produce, and will
continue to produce, them, while they exist. When the French were
in the habit of procuring these productions, they did not go either
to Banda or Amboyna in search of them, but to Guébi and Moar. Their
vessels resorted to the port of Guébi, unquestionably the finest
harbour in the Moluccas, and to which the Dutch were strangers, as the
French found it uninhabited. They there established themselves during
the time that the King of Maba and Patanie, and the Sultan of Tidor,
went in search of the precious trees which furnished the spices: they
took them to the Isle of France, where they succeeded remarkably well
(as we have seen in the Chapter on the Isle of France), as well as
at Cayenne, to which they were transported soon afterwards.

The inhabitants of the Moluccas are in general of a swarthy complexion,
approaching to black, with a yellow stain: they partake much of the
Malay character, and seem to derive their origin from that nation;
they have their language, their manners, and, like them, with little
personal strength, are nevertheless cruel and ferocious: perhaps the
harshness of their manners may be traced to the wandering and solitary
life they lead in the woods, to avoid becoming the slaves of the Dutch.

The islands they inhabit are fertile, but they do not practise any
cultivation, and live on sago, which grows wild in great quantities
in this archipelago.

The religion of the inhabitants of the Moluccas is a corruption
of Mahometanism.

The only persons who go clothed are the women and the priests; the
men only cover the head with a hat, painted in different colours,
made of the leaves of the latanier; the rest of the body is naked,
with the exception of a bit of narrow cloth, for the sake of decency.

The dress of the women consists of a long robe, without any folds,
fastened in front: they wear hats of an enormous size, not less than
seven or eight feet in circumference; these hats are flat on the
upper surface, and loaded with ornaments of shell work and mother
of pearl. On the under side, a circle of three inches in depth forms
the crown, and retains it on the head. The women never go out; they
are always confined to the house.

The priests, like the women, are clothed in a long robe, but they
are recognized by their caps, which are pointed.

Both sexes wear on their arms rings of shell work, of a kind of
porcelain, which they cut in this shape by rubbing on a stone.

Their arms are the bow and arrow, quiver and shield; the bow is
constructed of a very light, fibrous, and elastic wood, ornamented with
rings made of the rotin, which likewise, when prepared for the purpose,
answers for the string. The arrows are made of a light elastic reed,
and the point of wood jagged and very hard; sometimes this point
is formed of the longest dorsal fin bone of a large fish, and which
is prickly or barbed. The quiver is made of the bark of a tree, the
shield of a black wood, very hard: they are covered with sketches in
relief, executed with small shell work of a very beautiful white. These
shields are long, and narrower in the middle than at both ends.

Their boats are of an ingenious and singular construction; they are
not less than seventy to eighty feet in length; the two ends are
extremely elevated, and rise even to twenty feet above the water;
the rudder is nothing but a long oar, supported on a scaffold; the
hull of the boat consists of planks, which are neither jointed or
nailed, but simply put together, and retained by rope, made of the
rotin. To the sides are fixed two horizonal wings, which serve to
support it in stormy weather. Ten men, seated sideways on these wings,
by means of paddles, give incredible velocity to it; the dexterity
of the rowers consists in striking the water all at the same moment,
and with perfect regularity. It is, doubtless, for this reason that
during the time they row they excite each other by songs, or relieve
their labour by the noise of a kind of tam tam, to the sound of which
their movements keep time. The sails are made of several mats, of an
oblong form, and are placed crossways on the masts.

The Papuans who inhabit New Guinea, and the islands on its coasts,
are the immediate neighbours of the inhabitants of the Moluccas,
yet have neither their manners, or possess one trait of the character
of the latter: they approach nearer, and bear a closer analogy to the
natives of Guinea, on the coast of Africa, and which has been the cause
of the country they inhabit acquiring the name of New Guinea. They are
little known, and their coasts seldom visited. They are of a robust
make, and great stature, and though of a shining black, their skin is
nevertheless rough and hard; their eyes are large, the nose flattened,
and the mouth excessively wide; the lips, particularly the upper, very
thick; the hair crisped, and of a brilliant black. The character of
these savages corresponds with their exterior; they are fond of war,
and to bravery they join cruelty to their enemies.

In the interior of the large island of Papua, or New Guinea, there
exists a race of men called Haraforas, who live in trees, to which
they mount by means of a notched piece of wood, which they draw after
them, by way of guarding against surprize.

The principal commerce of the Papuans is with the Chinese, of whom
they purchase their different instruments and utensils. They give in
exchange ambergris, sea snails, tortoiseshell, small pearls, birds
of Paradise, lories, and other birds, which they stuff with great
dexterity. The women appear to be industrious; they fabricate mats
and earthen pots, and handle the hatchet well.

The shores of Papua are bold, and covered with cocoa trees; the
mountains of the interior adorned with wood; the nutmeg and clove tree
flourish there, and nature has made it one of the finest countries
on the surface of the globe. (Sonnini.)

The Moluccas, like the Philippines, contain many volcanos, which are,
probably, only different mouths of the same furnace. That of Siao is
one of the most considerable; in its most active eruptions it covers
all the neighbouring islands with cinders.







NOTES TO VOLUME II.


Note I.--Page 14.

It is here stated, that in 1709 the Chinese were expelled the
Philippines, and the reason assigned for that expulsion is their
application to commerce in lieu of agriculture, with a view to
which latter their residence was originally countenanced. Whatever
employment, in any community, offers the most productive results
with the least labour will naturally be resorted to by those whose
residence, like that of the Chinese, is merely temporary. They are
acknowledged to be a submissive and industrious people, and we must
conclude that the profits of agriculture were so much less secure
or less productive than those of commerce, that the latter was
preferred; and their habits of industry being far superior to those
of the indolent Spaniard, and the more indolent native, we cannot
wonder at their retreat, with their acquisitions, from a country the
government of which, so far from encouraging them with a permanency
of establishment, drew from them, in the person of the Governor,
a large revenue, as a tax on their temporary residence. Sonnerat
says, that the expulsion of the Chinese was the cause of the
decline of arts and commerce, and that they have never since
recovered. "Misery and depopulation have been the fatal consequences
of this mal-administration." It is evident, however, that since that
period, either the fallacy of the policy which dictated the measure
has been discovered, and the prohibition been removed, or, which is
more likely, the interest of the respective Governors has produced a
relaxation in favour of these industrious foreigners; for Mr. Guise,
who resided there several years, assures the translator, that when he
quitted Manila, about fifteen years ago, there were on the island from
fifteen to twenty thousand Chinese permitted to remain as residents,
and engaged in agriculture and commerce.

A Chinese Captain seems to be appointed by the Governor, who is
responsible for their conduct, and through whom applications for
residence are negociated with the government. The intercourse with
the Chinese port of Amoy, and with the north-eastern ports of China,
employs seven or eight junks, which bring with them annually from three
hundred to five hundred new adventurers, who work their passage over,
bringing each his packet of goods, with which, it may be presumed, he
forms his capital for trade during his residence there, and for which
residence, it may be equally presumed, he contributes annually to the
Governor: these junks likewise furnish to those who have acquired a
competency the means of revisiting their native country with their
riches. It must be concluded, therefore, that the Chinese, by their
residence in Luzon, contribute by their industry to the comforts of
life, and hold out an example which neither the Spaniard or native seem
disposed to follow; at the same time that the former characterizes
the indulgence shown to them as highly impolitic, and a wanton waste
of the riches and wealth of the colony.


Note II.--Page 60.

No stronger proof can be adduced of the unsettled state of the
maritime insurance law in the Spanish colonies than the instance in
the text. Can we entertain the favourable supposition that in the
mother-country this subject is equally well understood as by every
other European nation, and that a concurrence of circumstances have
conspired to introduce and perpetuate a vicious practice in this
colony? We fear in the sequel the reader will not be justified in
this conclusion.


Note III.--Page 65.

This is another instance of the disposition of the Spaniards to
extend what they ridiculously enough term their conquests, rather
than to consolidate their power, and establish their influence in the
Philippines. The attempt seems to have met with the fate it merited;
but although it proved abortive, we cannot help holding up to due
praise the perseverance with which, in perfect contempt of all personal
danger, the Catholic missionaries pursue their object of proselytism.


Note IV.--Page 72.

The value of this trade is here pretty clearly detailed and
comprehensively stated; we are left to conclude that the profits are
from one hundred to two hundred per cent. The translator is informed
by Mr. Guise that this trade was thus carried on:

The ship, having a Captain appointed by the Governor of Manila,
was furnished by the King, by whom likewise all the expenses of
the voyage were defrayed, and for whose reimbursement a duty of
thirty-three per cent. was levied at Acapulco on the value of the
cargo there. The persons who had the privilege of loading the ship
were the Captain, to a certain extent; the pious establishments;
the widows of officers, counsellors, &c. members of government,
and merchants: the portions of each from a quarter of a ton upwards,
the Captain having from forty to fifty tons. Exclusive of the right
which the pious establishments thus enjoyed of occupying tonnage,
they lent their money to the adventurers on a respondentia interest,
as will be mentioned in a future note.

This trade may most probably, at this period, be conducted upon a
different principle, and partake of that relaxation which it has
been found necessary to countenance through the whole of the Spanish
settlements, in consequence of recent political events.


Note V.--Page 78.

It is not possible to produce a stronger proof of the inefficiency of
the Spanish colonial system, than the treatment of this disinterested
and honest servant of the crown exhibits.


Note VI.--Page 83.

The determination of this question by the Royal Audience in favour
of the pious establishments, was unquestionably conformable to the
admitted principle of respondentia; and the reversal of it by the
council of the Indies is a sufficient proof of the unsettled state of
mercantile law in Spain, on a point which seems elsewhere generally
and definitively adjusted.

The liability of the respondentia lenders seems to be so ill defined,
that even in case of nearly total loss, their full demand is awarded
them, the loss thus falling on the borrower, instead (on the received
respondentia principle) of the lenders being entitled only to the
proportion of what is saved; for the premium of twenty-five per
cent. which they receive, may be presumed adequate to the interest
and insurance on such a voyage.

It ought not, under these circumstances, to create wonder that the
merchant adventurers borrowing from these establishments should, with
a view to their own protection, take due care that a partial shall,
by one means or other, be converted into a total loss.

There is one peculiarity in the principle of these loans which forms
a feature in the transaction distinct from common respondentia,
inasmuch as that the latter is limited to that bottom on which the
adventure began, while in the former the lender follows the goods
until they are sold and returned, though by some other bottom; but his
liability and forbearance of his principal and premium is limited to
three years. In respect to this limitation, it is even conformable
to our terms of respondentia, which allow a monthly per centage in
proportion to the first period of twenty months on which the premium
is calculated, but which per centage can only be demanded to the
extent in all of thirty-six months, including the original twenty,
provided the voyage should be prolonged so much; the common interest
of five per cent. only upon the aggregate amount afterwards attaching,
and all marine risk ceasing.



                                THE END.







                      T. DAVISON, Lombard-street,
                          Whitefriars, London.







NOTE


[1] The English Admiral, Rainier, in 1796, took possession of
the islands of Amboyna and Banda. The census made at that time of
the first of these islands, and its dependencies, made the number
of inhabitants 45,252, of whom 17,813 were Protestants, the rest
Mahomedans, with the exception of an inconsiderable number of Chinese
and Aborigines. (Sonnini.)