Chapter 2

4. On my arrival, I found Manila in great part burned and destroyed. Let me relate what occurs here. They say that the kingdom of China is often invaded by corsairs, and that one named Limahon (or, as the Chinese call him, Dim Mhon) had committed great depredations in China, whereby he had amassed great wealth. He was pursued by his king to the region near the upper point of this island of Luçon. Near an island about forty leagues from Luçon, he captured a Chinese merchant-ship that was en route from this city of Manila for purposes of trade. The merchants carried with them a quantity of gold and many reals of four Mexicans each, and other things obtained in this island, which were highly esteemed by them. Demanding with threats, where they had obtained this gold and silver, he robbed them of their goods, which they said had been obtained in Luçon, in trade with the Castilians. A pilot assisted him greatly in his negotiations here, for he said that the people were quite secure and careless, and were scattered through many places; and that, if he would come to the island in a short time, he would find only old people and invalids, as a galley was about to leave in order to take a captain to Mindanao and perhaps had already gone, so that there would be no one with whom to fight. The above-mentioned Limahon believed him, and thereupon came to the city. On the way, however, at dawn of day, without himself being seen, he met one of your Majesty's galliots. On this vessel there were twenty-two people, counting soldiers and sailors. This ship was sent by Captain Juan de Saucedo, who was in Ylocos, to some villages of Çinay [Sinay], near by, for provisions. This vessel had been taken from this city by order of Guido de Lavezares, in order to explore the province of Cagayan, to which I sent Don Luis de Sahajossa this last winter. When the corsair saw the galliot, he lowered his small boats and made an assault upon it; but, although the galliot was badly equipped, the soldiers defended themselves bravely from the attack of the small boats. The natives on the coast, say that a bronze falcon weighing fourteen quintals was fired five times. This falcon was called "Vigilantib" by the soldiers, on account of this word being used as an inscription upon it. As the corsair saw what a brave defense they made against the small boats, he bore down upon them with his whole fleet, consisting of sixty-two large ships, and with their great fire-bombs they burned the galley in a very short time. The poor fellows in it not having confidence in their oars--as they had only four oars to a bench, the galliot having fifteen benches--those still living threw themselves into the water. Thus they all perished, either at the hands of the Chinese or at those of the natives, who are wont to act in this manner. The Chinese sacked the galley, and placed the "Vigilantib" and other arms in their ships. This falcon was the greatest loss sustained by the galley, which was lost because it had been poorly equipped and had an insufficient number of men; they, as a result, could not warn Manila and other places. Had they been supplied with ammunition, it would have been easy to escape; and even, with the "Vigilantib" alone, to have destroyed their fleet.

5. With this prize captured from the galliot, the corsair proceeded toward Manila. At this time a soldier, Sayavedra, sergeant of Juan de Saucedo, who was in one of the neighboring villages, saw what had happened, and that the galley had been burned; and he wrote a letter to this effect to Juan de Saucedo, sending it overland by an Indian to Vigan, where Saucedo was located with one hundred men. In a short time Juan de Saucedo saw the ships of the corsair and his armament; so he sent a virey to advise the people of Manila of what was taking place. The ships in advance, on discovering the virey, deceived its occupants, and stood out to sea, to round a promontory, through the bay of which was coming the deceived virey. The _virey_ is a kind of vessel used by the natives of these islands; it has but little steadiness, and always navigates near the shore. While this little boat was going around the bay, all the ships came upon it at once. The occupants of the little boat had to run aground, in order to escape with their lives, and to hide in the hills. Then they took out their weapons, and paused to see what was taking place. The Chinese broke up the ship, but did not completely destroy it, and then continued their journey. The soldiers again took to their vessel, and slowly wended their way to Manila, arriving there one day after St. Andrew's Day, at noon, and after the corsair had made the first assault. They spread the news that Juan de Saucedo was coming from Ylocos with all haste, for he had found out who Limahon was. These soldiers landed in a hostile region, that of a certain people called Zambales; they are very much like the Chichimecos of Nueva España, who have no ambition higher than that of cutting off men's heads. They are accustomed to the use of bows and arrows. Consequently three soldiers in a rough country could not have escaped, unless God had kept their boat from being entirely destroyed by the Sangleyes.

6. The corsair continued his journey, and, intending to make an attack at dawn, anchored outside the bay, and sent all his small boats ashore in charge of some captains, in the early part of St. Andrew's Eve. They say that the corsair remained with the ships; but that in the boats there were seven hundred men, among whom were a few arquebusiers, and many pikemen, besides men armed with battle-axes. [1] They were clad in corselets which are coats lined with exceedingly thick cotton. They had durable bamboo hats, which served as helmets; they carried cutlasses, and several daggers in their belts; and all were barefoot. Their manner of warfare or of fighting, was to form a squadron composed of men with battle-axes, among whom were placed some arquebusiers, a few of the latter going ahead as skirmishers. One of every ten men carried a banner, fastened to his shoulders and reaching two palms above his head. There were other and larger banners also, so that it appeared as if some important personage was coming who served in the capacity of master-of-camp. These, then, were the people who made the first attack.

7. The entrance to the bay of this city of Manila is southwest of Manila. On its southern side, and to the right on entering the bay, is the port of Cavite, two leagues from Manila. They took the shorter route, which was safer for their small boats, and came somewhat late within half a league of Manila without being seen; for the slight breeze stirring from the east prevented them from making the assault at daybreak. Manila is on a point or isthmus running southeast and northwest; and the river encompasses it from the east to the northwest. They did not enter by the river, in order not to be seen by the fishermen who are constantly going and coming; and also for the reason that the bay is very wide at this point, and they would have to force an entrance, which they did not dare attempt in their small boats. The pirates therefore began a hurried march along shore toward the city, dragging their lances. They arrived at the city somewhere between nine and ten o'clock in the morning. The first house attacked was that of the master-of-camp, Martin de Goite; he was sick in bed at the time. Already some natives had come to him from the shore, shouting at the tops of their voices that enemies were near, and that the king of Borney was coming down upon the Castilians. Now as Martin de Goite knew that this was the season of the brisas, and that it was impossible to come from Borney, which lies to the southwest, because the wind was dead ahead, and not believing in the possibility of other enemies, he laughed at the men, telling them that they were drunken. Meanwhile, the advance-guard of the squadron was near the house, when he arose, put on a suit of mail, and took a sword with which to defend himself. It is believed that the Chinese were passing straight ahead toward the governor's house and the artillery, guided by the spy whom they brought with them, for they were stealing along the shore forward. This would have meant the total destruction of this city and camp; for your Majesty's houses, being at the extreme end of the point of land made by the sea and the river, were without any defense. The inhabitants of the city were each in his own house, and the artillery was lying on the ground dismounted, the pieces scattered here and there throughout the camp. The point of the island once occupied, the Spaniards had no place wherein to gather and fortify themselves, so that they could have a safe position back of them. God provided this, for it is said that, when the enemies came marching in line along the seacoast, the wife of Martin de Goite, the master-of-camp, was looking out of a window which faced the seacoast. She had a child's helmet on her head, and she called and beckoned to them, telling them in Castilian that they were dogs, and that they would all be killed. The Chinese observed this, and learned from the guide that this was the house of the master-of-camp. They regarded this as a very important piece of news, and, going to that house, hurled many fire-bombs, with which they burned it in a very short time; for it was made, like all the houses there, of wood and straw. They killed some men who had gathered there; they also killed the master-of-camp, who had been injured by the fire and wounded by an arquebuse-shot in one arm, and who threw himself from a window, on account of the cruel flames. A soldier, although the enemy struck at him repeatedly with cutlasses and battle-axes, escaped with but a slight wound. It is believed that if the master-of-camp had left the house early, he would have escaped; but that he tried to defend himself in his house, which he was unable to do, on account of his severe illness. Several other persons were killed there with him. His wife, who had shouted to them, they stripped, and tore off a ring which she was slow in drawing from her finger, and a necklace; and then they stabbed her severely in the neck. She rushed from the house and hid in the tall grass, thus escaping with her life; and she is now alive. Another woman and three or four men were killed. In burning that house, and in the resistance offered there, they were detained some time; therefore news of this affair reached the city and the house of the governor, Guido de Lavezares. The first intimation that they had of the approach of the enemy was the sight of the burning house of the master-of-camp, which thus revealed it. When the affair at the house was over, the pirates attempted to proceed once more to the beach.

The delay at the house was important, for in the meanwhile Captains Velasquez and Chacon, with what soldiers there were, went to the seacoast; and from the shelter of the houses facing the beach fired well-aimed volleys from their arquebuses, whereat a number of the advance guard fell. Thus was God pleased that with the death of thirteen or fourteen Spaniards and more than eighty Chinese, the latter had enough, retreated to their boats, and went away. The Spaniards did not molest them while they were retreating, on this day, on account of their own small number of fighting men, and for fear that such a course might incite those fleeing to return. The corsairs did not utter a word, nor did they complain, even when they fell with wounds. Those in command endeavored to induce their men to press forward, but did not succeed. Most of the Spaniards who were killed were arquebusiers, who had drawn near in order to take good aim. Although they did this, so many battle-axes were directed against them that they were overthrown. Now had there been better order in keeping the soldiers from making a sally unless commanded, it is thought that, since there was a body of lancers who could have met the enemy face to face, none would have been killed except those in the house of the master-of-camp, where more damage was done them by fire than by weapons. The corsairs went to the port of Cavite, where they found their chief with all his fleet; for on seeing the fire in the city, and hearing the roar of the artillery, he knew that his men were accomplishing their purpose, and entered the bay, going straight to the port of Cavite. Those of his men who had gone to the city in the boats told him that they were unable to finish the affair or to accomplish more, for the Castilians were a very brave people.

8. After the flight of the Chinese, a Chinese merchant who was in the city, Sinsay by name, called upon the governor. He told him the corsair's name, who he was, and his power. He also stated that he was a pirate, and not sent by order of his king; and that without doubt he would return in three days. He advised the Spaniards to fortify themselves, and to remove the straw from the roofs of your Majesty's houses, so that they could not be fired--advice which was acted upon.

9. The corsair Limahon rebuked his captains, and publicly manifested his disgust at their defeat. Then he summoned his soldiers, paid them all, and made them great promises. They agreed to rest one day and to return on the morning of the third day, when he would accompany them personally--which he did, with his entire fleet.

10. It seems that Guido Lavezares, on that day, ordered that two of the principal Moros be arrested and imprisoned, saying that, by means of them, the Moros would supply him with food. Thereupon the Moros rebelled, and the prisoners were placed, bareheaded, in the stocks. This was the occasion of a suit brought against one Osorio, the constable, in whose house was the prison. He claims that he was not guilty of the offense, saying that one Sancho Ortiz de Agurto, sergeant of Captain Velasquez, killed them, or ordered certain slaves to kill them. The suit was decided accordingly.

11. The first attack was made on the day of St. Andrew the Apostle. On Tuesday, the last of September [2] of the year seventy-four, the captains began the fortifications, making with boards, stakes, and boxes and barrels filled with sand, a palisade from the river to the sea. Although it was the best they could build, it was weak enough. The next day, Wednesday, at noon the three soldiers came to warn the people, as I have previously mentioned. At nightfall of this day arrived Juan de Saucedo. As before stated, he had been stationed in Ylocos with fifty soldiers. He came almost within sight of the Chinese fleet, and upon entering the bay, took the left-hand side, leaving the right side of the port to the Chinese. The people were overjoyed to see him and his soldiers, and that night they assisted in the work of the fortifications. Very early upon the next day (Thursday) the Chinese advanced in martial array, as if determined upon revenge. At four o'clock the whole fleet appeared in front of the city, in the form of a great crescent, so that they might be there before daybreak; and three salutes were fired from all the guns of the whole fleet. Then at dawn they lowered the small boats, finally disembarking near the house of the master-of-camp, which they had burned. The chief landed, but it is reported that he did not fight, or leave, that place, where he remained seated in a chair. He divided his soldiers there--numbering, it is said, about one thousand men--into two bodies. Part of them he sent through the principal street of the city, and the others along the beach. The latter took the same route as those who arrived on the first day. Besides these two squadrons, other men were sent along the river-bank.

12. They were allowed to land, which has been considered a great mistake; for all along the shore the land is covered with grass high enough to form a fine ambuscade, where the arquebusiers could easily have been placed under cover. The corsair might haye been easily killed with one shot, when he landed in his chair to take command.

13. This day the pirates, as if previously determined, did not burn any houses that seemed to be of good quality. They went straight to the fort, and assailed it vigorously on two sides. They encountered a strong resistance from the river side and in front, and some of them were killed. On the side next the sea, the guard of the fort was entrusted to a sergeant, named Sancho Hortiz de Agurto. He went down to the shore, leaving the post, where he was stationed to find but from what quarter the Chinese were coming. They were already so near that, upon one of the Chinese meeting him, the lance of the latter must have proved the longer weapon; for he wounded the soldier, who was armed only with a halberd, in the neck. Either this wound or some other obliged him to retire; and, upon his doing so, the Chinese shot him in the back with an arquebuse, which caused his death. They assert that this must have occurred as narrated, for he was seen to measure his halbert against the lance of the Chinese. They found him wounded with a lance-thrust, and the larger hole caused by the bullet was in his breast, a proof that the bullet left his body there. But his friends tried to say that while he was fighting with the Sangley, they shot him in the back--which might have been so; for as the enemy were forcing their way into the fort, they naturally met with resistance from those defending that position. Thus according to his friends, the mistake in leaving the palisade caused the harm. On this account it happened that, when they forced that position, they found there the least resistance. About eighty Chinese entered the fort at that point, and all of them might have done so had they all been of equal courage. Our soldiers attacked them immediately, with lance and arquebuse, killing them all, according to report. This result was aided by the resistance experienced by the assaulters in other parts of the fort, which forced the Chinese to commence a retreat. Now when the main division of those who had entered the fort saw the others retreat, they too retreated and did not enter, abandoning the eighty, all of whom the Spaniards killed whether they sought flight by land or sea. On this day they burned the Augustinian church, the church of the city, and a galley that was grounded near the river; and they also destroyed an old ship. This galley was about to sail to Mindanao, as previously stated. Three Spaniards were killed and several wounded on this day, and mare than two hundred Chinese. The greatest damage was caused by the fire; for a great fire-bomb fell upon some powder, which exploded causing the death of two or three other men.

14. It is said that the corsair Limahon tried to force his men to remain, but was unsuccessful, so he retired, embarked in his boats, and set sail with his vessels for the port of Cavite.

15. It is thought that allowing the Chinese to embark on their retreat without hindrance was a mistake. Some of the Spaniards did attempt to prevent them, but the corsair, fearing that this might happen, sent some boats by sea to the river, so that the Spaniards should continue their guard, and not hinder the embarkation; and so that they might believe that those in the boats were reinforcements sent to take them in the rear. Thus it was believed, regarding it casually, that if the corsair had had much force and had taken thought in the beginning to attack in so many different places, he would have done it; but that either he did not understand this, or did not dare to do it. Therefore he collected his men, without any damage being inflicted on him in his retreat.

16. As the natives of this place, who are Moros, saw what took place the first day, thinking that the Chinese were victorious, they all rebelled on the second day. In that short space of time there gathered around the city of Manila more than ten thousand Moros, in their little boats, ready to obey the commands of the corsair. They say, too, that messengers were sent to Cavite, and the news spread broadcast. Wherever friars were stationed, the Moros captured and insulted them, threatened them with death, and robbed them of everything. They defiled the churches, killing goats there; and slew all the Spaniards possible, and their slaves. It is for this reason, the soldiers say, that they did not leave the fort, in order to prevent the departure of the corsairs, for the Moros surrounded them on all sides. When the Moros knew that the Sangleyes had gone, and that the Spaniards had been victorious, they set the friars free; and, little by little, they again became submissive--apologizing for their revolt because of the chiefs who had been slain in prison.

17. The artillery was badly mounted, and there was no gunner who knew how to fire it. If the Spaniards had had sufficient artillery, that would have proved very effectual; and, as the vessels neared the city, some of them might have been sent to the bottom. No damage, however, was done to any vessel, although they were fired upon; so that all the resistance which they made was with lances and arquebuses.

18. The corsair went to the port of Cavite with his fleet, and did not appear again; and not one ship could be found at the dawn of day. He departed to Ylocos, whence he came. He determined to establish himself in this island, settling in the province of Pangasinan, in the vicinity of Ylocos. There he founded a settlement, consisting of a great fort, in which dwelt all those who had accompanied him; and a counter-fort in the middle with an excellent and well-constructed house for himself, where he was recuperating, forty leagues from this city of Manila.

19. The wall of the fort was very high and built of palm-logs, and the counter-fort was built of palm-wood planks. When the corsair arrived there, he seized by treachery several chiefs of that land, through whom he obtained supplies. He robbed them of all their substance, and, in general treated them badly. As he had their chiefs, the common people could not flee; and because the corsair did not kill them, as he had done with others, they supported and served him. On this account he was very well supplied with provisions, wood, and other necessary things.

20. The Spanish people who were not in the city during that attack were scattered throughout the province of Camarines, one hundred leagues from here. There were almost a hundred men with a captain in the island of Çubu, and seventy more in Ylocos under Juan de Saucedo, who had gone thither to form a settlement, since these men were the encomenderos of that province. When the corsair went away, a ship was sent to find out where he had halted; and, upon discovering this, all the Spanish people were summoned, who came to Manila as quickly as possible. In the meantime Guido de Lavezares appointed Juan de Saucedo master-of-camp, and all began preparations to meet the enemy. During the time of preparation for the expedition, in order to leave the city in security, they constructed a fort; it is now finished, and was made by the natives, the wood being paid for at the expense of your Majesty. Your Majesty's carpenters here also assisted, so that the work was completed. The master-of-camp, Juan de Saucedo, and all the Spaniards who had gathered, and were available for the expedition, were summoned. They numbered about two hundred and fifty-six, together with two thousand five hundred friendly Indians; and they set out in fifty-nine native vessels, commanded by Captains Chacon, Chaves, Rribera, and Rramirez. These officers were instructed to consult together in regard to whatever the said master-of-camp should freely and voluntarily communicate to them, as it was he who was conducting the present undertaking.