Chapter 1

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

Editorial Announcement

The Editors desire to announce to their readers an important modification in the scope and contents of this work. As originally planned and hitherto announced, the series was intended to furnish the original sources, printed and documentary, for the history of the Philippine Islands only to the beginning of the nineteenth century. To most of our readers, the reasons for this are obvious: the fact that the classic period of Philippine history is thus bounded; the comparative rarity and inaccessibility of most material therein to the general public; the vast extent of the field covered by Philippine history, and the necessary limitations of space imposed upon the selection of material for this work; the closing of foreign archives to all investigators after an early date in the nineteenth century; and the greater difficulty, in that later period, of securing a proper historical perspective. But so many and urgent requests have come to us, from subscribers and reviewers, for such extension of this series as shall cover the entire period of Spanish domination, that we have decided to modify the former plan in the manner here briefly indicated.

It is our purpose not to exceed the number of volumes already announced, fifty-five. We are able to do this because in our original plan, to avoid a subsequent increase in the number of volumes, a certain amount of space was purposely left for possible future changes as a result of later investigations to be made in foreign archives, or on account of the necessary excision of extraneous or irrelevant matter from the printed works which are to be presented in this series. The new title will be "The Philippine Islands: 1493-1898." The early and especially important history of the islands will be covered as fully as before. For the history of the nineteenth century, we will present various important decrees, reports, and other official documents; and provide a clear, careful, and impartial synopsis of some of the best historical matter extant, down to the close of the Spanish régime. Throughout the series will be used, as has been done from the beginning, all the best material available--historical, descriptive, and statistical--for reference and annotation. With the copious and carefully-prepared bibliography of Philippine historical literature, and the full analytical index, which will close the series; the broad and representative character of the material selected throughout; and the impartial and non-sectarian attitude maintained, the Editors trust that this change will still further enable scholars, historical writers, and general readers alike to study, with reliable and satisfactory material, the history of the Philippine Islands from their first discovery by Europeans to the close of the Spanish régime, and incidentally the history of the entire Orient.

Contents of Volume VI

Preface ... 13

Documents of 1583-85

Foundation of the Audiencia of Manila (concluded). Felipe II; Aranjuez, May 5, 1583 ... 35

Two decrees regarding the religious. Felipe II; San Lorenzo, June 21, 1583, and Aranjuez, April 24, 1584 ... 45

Annual income of the royal exchequer in the Philippines. Andres Cauchela, and others; Manila, June 15-30, 1584 ... 47

Letter to Felipe II. Melchor Davalos; Manila, July 3, 1584 ... 54

Letter to the archbishop of Mexico. Santiago de Vera; Manila, June 20, 1585 ... 66

Two letters to Felipe II. Fray Geronimo de Guzman [Madrid? 1585]; and Fray Jhoan de Vascones [1585?] ... 76

History of the great kingdom of China (extracts relating to the Philippines). Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza; Madrid, 1586 ... 81

Documents of 1586

Memorial to the Council by citizens of the Filipinas Islands. Santiago de Vera, and others; Manila, [July 26] ... 157

Letter to Felipe II. Alfonso de Chaves, and others; Manila, June 24 ... 234

Letter from the Manila cabildo to Felipe II. Andres de Villanueva, and others; Manila, June 25 ... 242

Letter to Felipe II. Antonio Sedeño; Manila, June 25 ... 247

Letter to Felipe II. Domingo de Salazar; Manila, June 26 ... 251

Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe II. Santiago de Vera, and others; Manila, June 26 ... 254

Letter to Felipe II. Pedro de Rojas; Manila, June 30 ... 265

Letter to Felipe II. Juan de Moron; Manila, June 30 ... 275

Measures regarding trade with China. Felipe II, and others; Madrid and Manila; June 17-November 15 ... 279

Brief erecting Franciscan province of the Philippines. Sixtus V; Rome, November 15 ... 290

Documents of 1587-88

Letter to Felipe II. Alvaro, Marques de [Villa] Manriquez; Mexico, February 8, 1587 ... 295

Letter to Felipe II. Santiago de Vera; Manila, June 26, 1587 ... 297

Letter from the Audiencia to Felipe II. Santiago de Vera, and others; Manila, June 25, 1588 ... 311

Bibliographical Data ... 323

Illustrations

Title-page of _Historia del gran reyno de China_, by Juan Gonçalez de Mendoça (Madrid, M.D.LXXXVI); from copy (Madrigal edition) in Library of Congress ... 83

Title-page of "Itinerario" at end of Gonçalez's _Historia_, from copy in Library of Congress ... 135

Signature of Alonso Sanchez, S.J., from MS. in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla ... 228

Preface

The present volume covers the period of 1583 to 1588 inclusive. At the close of two decades of Spanish occupation in the Philippines, the native population is decimated, and the Spanish colonists are poor, heavily burdened with taxation, and largely non-producing. The islands are but nominally defended by a small, irregular, demoralized force of unpaid soldiers, whose lawlessness and arrogance render them dangerous to their own countrymen, and tyrants over the helpless natives. The Audiencia is a costly institution, a burden of which all the people complain. They have other grievances and many needs, which finally impel them to send a special envoy to Spain, to procure relief and aid from the home government. The documents in this volume contain much valuable information regarding the economic condition of the colony, and its commercial relations with China and Mexico respectively. As the Spanish settlers in the Philippines find that they are largely dependent upon China for their food, those who are wise see the necessity of encouraging and extending agriculture in the islands; but others are fired with the lust for wealth and conquest, and urge upon Felipe II a scheme for subduing China by force of arms, thus to give Spain the control of the great Oriental world, and incidentally to enrich a host of needy Spanish subjects.

In Volume V was presented the greater part of the royal decree establishing the Audiencia of the Filipinas; the document is here concluded. The duties of certain subordinate officials of that tribunal--commissioners of examination, jail-wardens, and interpreters--are carefully prescribed. Such commissioners are forbidden to play games of chance, except for articles of food ready to be eaten. Prisoners in jail shall not be allowed to gamble, except for food. The document closes with a general provision for a tariff of official fees, and for the care of the Audiencia's archives.

Felipe II decrees (June 21, 1583) that the Audiencia aid the Franciscan missionaries in the islands; and (April 24, 1584) that the religious orders there continue to receive from the royal treasury the gratuities originally bestowed upon them by Legazpi. The officials of the treasury furnish a statement of their accounts, which shows a yearly deficit in current expenses; and extraordinary expenses besides, which nearly equal the total revenue for the year. Alarmed at this condition of affairs, the Audiencia institutes an inquiry (June 15, 1584) into the commercial and industrial status of the colony; the witnesses all testify that great scarcity of supplies, and poverty among the people, are prevalent; that a considerable portion of the native population has perished; and that the non-productive elements of the population are much too large.

One of the auditors, Melchor Davalos, writes (July 3, 1584) to the king a letter which, withal containing some valuable information regarding matters in the islands, is a curious mixture of pedantry, bigotry, egotism, and vanity. He mentions the arrival and establishment of the Audiencia at Manila, complains that he cannot obtain the salary due him, and relates the services which, he thinks, entitle him to better treatment. He asks for instructions as to what shall be done with the Mahometans, and cites the permission formerly given to Legazpi by the king to enslave the Moros in certain cases, also the example set by the sovereigns of Spain and Portugal in expelling or crushing the Moors who inhabited their dominions. Davalos also desires the king to settle the question of slaveholding by the Spaniards, which he is inclined to justify; and to take such action as will prevent the Chinese from obtaining all the money which comes to the Philippines. The utmost poverty prevails among the Spanish soldiery, who are unpaid; and Davalos advises that they be sent to make fresh conquests, by which they can support themselves. The Spanish post in the Moluccas is menaced by the native king of Ternate, and a large force of troops is to be sent to its aid. A controversy arises among the Spanish officers over the appointment of a commander for this expedition, which Davalos proposes to settle by himself going as commander--thus satisfying all the discontented captains, as he informs his royal correspondent. He desires the king to grant him authority to punish the Chinese for vicious practices, and thinks that the friars should convert and baptize these heathen more rapidly than they are doing.

The new governor, Santiago de Vera, writes (June 20, 1585) to the archbishop of Mexico. He encounters many difficulties--coolness on the part of the bishop, lack of support from his associates in the Audiencia, and but little acquaintance with the needs of the islands in the royal Council of the Indias. His duties are onerous and his responsibilities too great; he asks the archbishop to aid him in an appeal to the king for relief from these burdens and vexations. Vera cannot yet procure the quicksilver which he has been asked to send to Mexico, but will try to obtain it from the Chinese traders. The king of Ternate has revolted, and affairs there are in bad condition; more troops are needed, but cannot be spared from Manila. Vera discusses various matters concerning some of his officers, and affairs both military and civil. He sends to Spain, under arrest, two prisoners--one of them Diego Ronquillo, a kinsman of the late governor Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa, charged with defalcation in the trust of the latter's estate.

A Franciscan official in Spain, Geronimo de Guzman, sends to the king (1585) certain recommendations regarding the government of the Franciscan friars in the Philippines. An Augustinian friar, Jhoan de Vascones, who has evidently gone from the islands to Spain, writes in behalf of his brethren there (1585?) to ask the king that more religious be sent to the Philippines and to other Oriental lands; that these friars be sent from Spain by way of India instead of Nueva España; that the authorities of India, secular and ecclesiastical, be commanded to aid the friars in their missionary journeys; that the latter be permitted to build monasteries as they may choose, "in remote and infidel lands," without awaiting government permission; and that the authorities at Manila be not allowed to send, at their own pleasure, the friars to other lands.

From the _Historia del gran Reyno de China_ (Madrid, 1586) of the Augustinian Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza, we have translated such matter as relates to the Philippine Islands--portions of part ii, and of the "Itinerary" appended to Mendoza's work. He narrates (book i,