Chapter 18

He who informed your Majesty of the disorderly manner in which have been collected the tributes of the encomiendas which are not fully pacified, and how poorly the ordinances of your Majesty have been observed, spoke the truth in this matter. The excess in this has been so great that it has been the cause of all the riots and the revolt of the Indians, and of the deaths which have occurred among the Spaniards. I have given your Majesty news of this, grieving for the evils which have sprung from it. For the Indians of this province, in those places where the name of God has never entered, nor that of your Majesty, must feel resentful where they have seen neither ministers of instruction nor of justice; but only see that each year a dozen of soldiers with arquebuses come to their houses to take their property away from them, and the food upon which they live, although their all is little enough. These collectors afflict, maltreat, and torment them, and so leave them, until they return another year to do the same. What else can these natives think of us, but that we are tyrants, and that we come only to make our gain out of their property and their persons? And this will be very difficult to remedy, so distant from the rest are some of the encomiendas, with water between, and so little fear of God have those who make the collections. It may be that with the arrival of the new governor there will be much improvement in this; although if he does not bear an order from your Majesty to change some measures which up to the present have been in force, I have no hope of betterment.

In the next to the last clause of this letter your Majesty says that to remedy the present lack of instruction is my own special obligation, which I confess; and I have so appreciated this that, seeing the great present need of instruction and the little help which I can offer, I am so disturbed and so filled with anxiety that, if I were able to leave the bishopric, I would try to flee from it. But if, inasmuch as your Majesty declares to me my obligation, and puts in my charge what is lacking, you should give me, together with it, authority to right affairs, your Majesty would be relieved of responsibility, and I of anxiety, other than to make progress in learning my obligations. If I do not have authority and power to remedy this, I must live all my life in anxiety and perturbation of spirit, because every year I see them collect tribute from a race that is never given to understand why it is collected; nor is there any hope that they may be able to have instruction, because of the great difficulty there is in giving it to them. Knowing that this is the legitimate title which we have in seeking tribute, your Majesty may see what peace of conscience he can have who has all these souls in his charge, both those who collect and those of whom collection is taken. To relieve me from the anguish in which I live, the only means of removing all difficulties is for your Majesty to send us a great number of religious of the four orders already established here--without giving ear to those who speak of a matter about which, in my opinion, they have no means of judging here. They say that some have tried to persuade your Majesty, with no other spirit than that of the devil (who wishes to hinder so much good), that we have all the religious that are necessary. In addition to the thirty-seven Augustinians now here, more than three hundred others are needed; and even these will not be enough. Yet, with this number great results would be accomplished.

The first is that your Majesty would be fulfilling the obligation which you have toward these nations, in giving them instruction. They need this, because of the ten divisions of this bishopric eight have no instruction; and some provinces have been paying tribute to your Majesty for more than twenty years, but without receiving on account of that any greater advantage than to be tormented by the tribute and afterward to go to hell.

Second, all the Indians who are to be pacified will then be found, because experience has already shown us that to think of finding the Indians with a force of soldiers is rather to lose them, and never to pacify them; while with religious they all become obedient with great good will. And, when they are pacified and converted, much larger tributes can be exacted, and the increase of revenue in the treasury of your Majesty from their tributes would be greater than the amount spent in sending them religious; while the conscience of your Majesty would be free from the greatest weight which, in my judgment, it has in this land, because tributes are collected from Indians who have never rendered obedience, and do not, as I have said above, know why they are paying it.

In the last clause your Majesty orders me to charge myself with the protection of the Indians of this bishopric. I receive this charge as a special favor; because, as it was, I was burdened with the same responsibility, and with this commission I shall have, as your Majesty says, more authority in order to render aid. And this provision was so necessary because, without it, I was able to do almost nothing to succor the Indians. And with this I think I shall be able to serve your Majesty more, and to advance the cause of those who shall come with the charge of bishop, although the one joined to the other is of very great consequence. The Indians who have learned of it are very glad, since the obligation which is due them from the Spaniards is of no concern to the latter. And as it is from the hand of your Majesty, this office, then, is of greater importance for the relief of the conscience of your Majesty and the preservation of the natives, than any other one of all that are provided for afterward by the governor. I have not the wherewithal for the expenses which occur; for there must necessarily be a notary, interpreter, and lawyer, and persons who with my authorization shall be present to plead the suits--which will not be a few, and cannot be carried through without spending money--since I am not able, nor is it right that I should be on hand to present the petition, or to plead the causes and business of so much weight and authority. To take this task of being my agent, some honest man, however honorable his station, should be glad to do it. It is necessary that he be a person of great credit and of resolute mind, that he may not fear to defend the Indians, although at the risk of injury from those who harm them, and this seldom fails to come to pass, as the disputes are often with those who are very powerful.

It will also be necessary to send persons from this city through all the bishopric to investigate the injuries that the Indians suffer. Before they go to do this, I shall have notice of what is happening; and this is to be done at the cost of your Majesty's treasury, in order not to give occasion for the robbery of the Indians, if they should have to pay them. All this is necessary in order that I should be able to perform well this office, and relieve the conscience of your Majesty and my own; because many are the wrongs which the Indians receive in this bishopric from your encomenderos, the alcaldes-mayor, and the tax-receivers; and, the farther away they are, the greater the wrongs and the more difficult the remedy. I humbly beseech your Majesty to be pleased to command provision to be made as I here request, because otherwise my protection will be only nominal and ineffectual. I have already discussed this with the governor, and I understand that he will make provision in some of these things, because the necessity is very urgent; and for the remainder we wait what your Majesty is pleased to command. The friendly intercourse which your Majesty commands me to observe with the governor, your Majesty may be assured will not be lacking on my part; and I understand that without doubt there will be as little lack on the part of the governor, because in the little intercourse that I have had with him I have conceived very great hopes of him. And I believe that God inspired your Majesty to send him to us--although, as I have known him only a little while, I am not able to express more than what I hope.

Because there is no mention made of the Sangleys in the clause of the letter in which your Majesty commands me to take charge of the protection of these natives, the governor has considered--and this is his opinion--that because we were not there named, neither I nor my agent could answer for them, as for the natives. May your Majesty be pleased to command what is to be done in this case, because the Sangleys have so much more need of protection than the natives. In the meanwhile, according to the wish of the governor, I shall not cease to aid in whatever may concern them, just as if I had been appointed to look after them by your Majesty; and my agent will do the same, in those matters which belong to him as such. May our Lord preserve the royal person of your Majesty for many years. At Manila, the twenty-fourth of June, 1590.

_Fray Domingo_, Bishop of the Filipinas.

[_Endorsed_: "Filipinas. To his Majesty; 1590. The bishop; twenty-fourth of June." "Received and read on June 19, 1591; and answer sent him that it had been received, and that what he advised had been approved and should be continued."]

Royal Decree Regulating Commerce in the Philippines

Don Phelippe, by the grace of God, King of Castilla, Leon, Aragon, the two Sicilies, Jherusalem, Portugal, Mallorca, Sevilla, Cerdeña, Cordova, Corçega, Murçia, Jaem, the Algarves, Algezira, Gibraltar, the islands of Canaria, the Eastern and Western Yndias, and the islands and mainland of the Ocean Sea; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Borgoña, Bravante, and Milan; Count of Habspurg, Flandes, Tirol, and Barzelona; Seignior of Vizcaya and Molino, etc. Inasmuch as I have been informed [43] by the city of Manila in the Philippinas Islands that the great consignments of money sent by the wealthy from Nueva España, for investment in Chinese merchandise and that of other countries, have caused ruin to that country; and that the factors and others taking part in the said trade buy the goods at wholesale prices, and raise the price of all the merchandise, so that the poor and common people of the said islands cannot buy them, or buy them at very high rates; and furthermore that, because of the number and size of the said consignments of goods, and the vessels being few in number (indeed, sometimes and usually but one, and then quite filled up and laden with the said merchandise for Mexicans), no space is left for the citizens and common people [of the Philippines] to send their merchandise: therefore, as they have implored me, as a remedy for the said annoyances, to provide and order that no consignments of money be sent from the said Nueva España to the said islands, and that they be not allowed to have factors or companies there, but that the citizens of the said islands alone be allowed to buy and export to the said Nueva España domestic and foreign products; and that, if anyone else should wish to trade and traffic there, he should be compelled to become a citizen of the islands, and reside there for at least ten years, or as might be my pleasure; and because my will is to concede favor to the said islands, in order that their condition may continue to improve, and the inhabitants thereof to be advantaged--I grant that, for the present, they alone, and no others--whether of Nueva España, or any other part of the Indias--may trade in China, and export, take, or sell to the said Nueva España the merchandise and articles thus traded for in both the kingdoms and mainland of China, and in the said islands, for the time and space of six years, first commencing from the date of the departure of the first vessel with a cargo of merchandise for the said Nueva España. I prohibit and forbid all other persons whomsoever, of whatever rank and preeminence, from trading in the said islands and in China for the space of the said six years, reckoned as above stated, under penalty of confiscation of the merchandise that they have traded for therein. I order that this my provision be promulgated in the City of Mexico, and that my royal officials there enter it in their books. Those of the said islands shall do likewise, and they shall endorse on the back of this said provision the date upon which it took effect, by the departure from port of the first vessel with the said merchandise. They shall send me a separate attestation of the same, so that I may know when the said six years are to be in force. And neither one nor the other shall do anything contrary to this order. [_Blank spaces for place, day, and month_] one thousand five hundred and ninety.

So that for the period of six years only, the citizens and inhabitants of the Philippinas Islands and none others, whether in Nueva España or other places, may trade and traffic in China. [44]

[Accompanying this decree is a separate paper reading as follows: "÷ By the crown of Castilla. Provision allowing the people of Manila to trade in China. His Majesty omitted to sign this decree, because he wishes your Lordship to summon Pedro Barbosa and Pedro Alvarez Pereira, and to ascertain from them what is written on the subject from India from Don Christoval de Mora to Pedro Alvarez. This latter will show your Lordship all the papers that he has bearing upon this matter; and after you shall have examined them, you shall advise his Majesty of your opinion. Sant Lorenzo, July 23, 1590." Without other signature than a rubrica or flourish.]

The Collection of Tributes in the Filipinas Islands 1591

_Source_: This document is obtained from copies of the original MSS., in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla.

_Translation_: It is synopsized, and partially translated, by Emma Helen Blair; the remaining translation is by Frederic W. Morrison, of Harvard University, and Norman F. Hall.

The Collection of Tributes in the Filipinas Islands

Memorandum of the Resources of the Hospital of Manila and Its Needs

The royal hospital for the Spaniards possesses about one hundred taes of gold in the encomienda of Darandum in Ylocos, which was assigned to the said hospital by Doctor Sande. DC pesos

It possesses, further, six hundred pesos, which were granted to it by the president from the encomienda which fell vacant because of the death of Don Luis de Sahajosa, in Ylocos. DC pesos

It possesses one thousand five hundred fanegas of rice, and one thousand seven hundred fowls, assigned by the president from the tributes of Caruya and Lubao, which belong to his Majesty. DLXX pesos

It possesses what your Lordship assigned it in the encomienda of Bondoy Moron, which, it is thought, will amount to more than eight hundred or nine hundred pesos. IU pesos

IIU.DCCLXX pesos

With the above, the said hospital cannot even support the expenses incurred for food and for services rendered by the Indians. It likewise needs a doctor, medicine, nurses, and other services, as well as exceptional delicacies, bed clothes, and tents. Indeed half the money is expended in the anointings and sweatings which are applied throughout the year.

There is also needed a chaplain, who is usually attached to the said hospital, to administer the sacraments to the sick.

The building of the said hospital does not suffice for its needs. It contains but one hall, where all classes of sick people are packed together, to their own detriment. Another infirmary is greatly needed for patients who suffer from buboes, and for anointings and sweatings; there are many sick with this disease, since this country is well suited to produce it. The said hospital also needs a room for the convalescents, for lack of which many relapses are wont to occur.

We also need quarters for sick women, for many poor creatures do not recover because they have no money, and no place where they can go.

Likewise, the said hospital is in need of a kitchen, utensils, and quarters for its servants, all of which things are needful therein for the suitable outfit and service of the said hospital.

The captain _Cuenca_, as director of the hospital.

Discussion and Conclusions of the Bishop Concerning the Matter of Tributes

_Jesus_

Inasmuch as I understand that some of the encomenderos, and especially those from Camarines, have gone, or desire to go, to ask permission of your Lordship to collect from their encomiendas, in which they never have, nor do they at present, maintain religious instruction, I have deemed it best to send to your Lordship a brief statement of what I and the theologians of this bishopric feel concerning the collections in the aforesaid encomiendas, in order that your Lordship may understand how and in what way they are to be licensed to make these collections. [45] Although the king, our lord, has unburdened his royal conscience by entrusting it to your Lordship and to myself, I see no reason why we should weigh down our own souls and consciences with what others are to eat and expend.

The encomiendas existing in these islands are, in general, divided into two classes; for some of them have had and do still have religious instruction, and others have never had it in the past, nor do they enjoy it at present. The encomiendas which do not possess instruction are themselves divided into two classes: the first consists of those which have not had, and now have not, any religious instruction, nor have they ever received from their encomenderos spiritual or temporal benefits; on the contrary, their present condition is such that it would seem the Spaniards had never gone thither to do aught else than to reduce and conquer them in order to exact tributes. We may even say that the encomiendas are in worse condition than if the Spaniards had never come, for, with the harsh treatment and oppression that they have received at our hands, they are at present further from receiving the law of God than if they had never known us. The second class consists of the encomiendas which, although they have not been instructed, have received from their encomenderos, or by means of them, some temporal advantages which tend toward spiritual benefits, which prepare them so that they may be instructed, and that one may live among them in security. In the first division are included the encomiendas of Calamianes, which at present belong to Captain Sarmyento; the islands of Cuyo, which belong to Captain Juan Pablo de Carrion; the encomiendas which are in the islands of Mindanao and Jolo, and on the coast opposite, Mindoro and Elin; the encomiendas called Zambales, which extend from Maribeles to Pangasinan; in Ylocos, the valley of Dinglas, and the encomiendas which extend from Ylagua to Cagayan, and all those of Cagayan; and those which extend along the farther coast from Cagayan to Mavban; and, finally, all those other islands of like character, which I do not at present remember. In all the aforementioned places, it has been hitherto impossible to collect the tributes, and it will likewise be impossible in the future, should they continue to maintain their present attitude; but whatever has thus far been collected from them we are under obligations to restore.

In the other division are included all the remaining encomiendas of the Pintados, with the exception of a few in Panay where there is religious instruction. In the above division are included the islands of Leite, Negros, Babao, Balon, and Bohol; and, in the island of Panay, the encomienda of Captain Pedro Sarmiento; the encomienda of Axuy, which belongs to his Majesty and to Francisco de Rribera; the tingues [hills] of the river of Araud which belong to his Majesty and to Captain Juan Pablo de Carrion and two or three other encomenderos; the islands of Marinduque and Masbate, and all the others which extend thence to the mouth of the channel; in Camarines, the islands of Catanduanes and Lagunay, and those along the coast and many others which are in this condition. In all the aforesaid places it may be considered a general rule that religious teaching did not, and does not exist--or at least has existed for so short a time that it is practically the same as if it had never existed. Moreover, from all the aforesaid places and from others like them, since they have been in such condition that one could travel through them in security (and, if ministers should come, their inhabitants could be instructed), it has been possible to collect a certain amount of tribute, for aid, and support, and expenses. Not all, or even half, of the tributes, however, could be collected; if the encomiendas are rather large, only the third part is obtained, and if they are small, only half. Moreover, whatever collections were made from these encomiendas could not be made until they had been prepared as aforesaid. Inasmuch as this matter is a most difficult one, on account of the danger incurred in collecting from the Indians what they do not owe, and when they are not willing that it should be collected, and of depriving the encomenderos of what is due them in case they have fulfilled their obligations toward the Indians, this shall be the rule regarding such action as has been taken hitherto by the confessors, namely, that an encomendero who has simply made collections among the Indians, without having done them any temporal or spiritual good, shall not be entitled to collect any tributes; if, however, through his endeavors, or by trading with them, they are so well-inclined that he can go about safely among them, and they themselves can be instructed when they have ministers, the encomenderos shall be entitled to collect from them the portion which we have named above. In order that from this time forth, the king in the royal encomiendas, and the encomenderos in theirs, may, as has been stated, collect the third part or the half, the following conditions must be observed:

First: That the encomenderos shall endeavor, with the utmost diligence and care, to establish sufficient religious instruction in their encomiendas. In case they are unable to do so, they shall write to his Majesty, requesting him to provide the necessary number of ministers to teach the Indians; and they shall ask this so earnestly and effectively that his Majesty will feel himself under obligation to send ministers. They shall likewise offer, if it be necessary, to pay a part of the expenses which his Majesty shall incur in sending the ministers.

Second: In case ministers cannot at once be found to instruct the natives, orders shall meanwhile be given as to how the encomenderos are to reside in their lands. This should not be done in the manner which has been hitherto practiced, when some of the encomenderos hoping thus to reduce their expenses go to live in their encomiendas (indeed, I know not if there are any who act otherwise), and there employ the Indians in the service of themselves, their families, and their houses, taking away their possessions at the lowest price, and treating them as if they were their slaves. They care nothing for instructing the natives, or setting them a good example, or preparing them to receive baptism; on the contrary they exasperate the Indians with their harsh treatment, and cause them to abhor the law of God. Such encomenderos as these should not reside in their encomiendas: the governor ought to forbid them even to visit those places, and should himself appoint such person or persons as would fulfil toward the Indians the obligations which rest upon encomenderos.