Chapter 18

The King: To Don Luis de Velasco, [47] my viceroy, governor, and captain-general of the provinces of Nueva España. Your predecessor in the government of those provinces, the Marques de Montes Claros, informed me by a letter of May 24 of last year that he had received my decree of August 19, one thousand six hundred and six, in which were contained the directions to be followed by him in the opening to navigation and the settlement of the new port of Monte Rey, discovered by Sevastian Vizcayno on the voyage from Nueva España to the Philipinas Islands. He stated that the decree could not be carried out in any respect, since it reached his hands when the trading fleet for those islands had already set sail, and since Sevastian Vizcayno--whom I had commanded to undertake that voyage and found the colony, as being the discoverer of the said port--had departed for that kingdom in the fleet of that year. He stated that with a view, above all, to reaching a decision in regard to what must be done for the prosecution of this business, it seemed to him well to inform me of what he had heard, and of what had been brought before him with reference to the matter. He took for granted that it was of great importance to discover a port where the ships returning from the Filipinas might stop to refit; for on so long a voyage the greatest part of the danger is due to the lack of a place where the injuries received in the voyage may be repaired. If no more suitable place should be found, he said, it would be advisable to make use of the port of Monte Rrey, of which he had been notified; but, to understand better the importance of this port, it would be well to notice that according to the survey made by the said Sevastian Vizcayno it seems to be in latitude thirty-seven, on the coast known as the coast of Nueva España, which runs from Cape Mendocino to Acapulco. Now while it is true that most of the ships on his voyage sight land within one or two degrees of that place, still, it must be understood that they always regard themselves as being at the end of their voyage and out of danger on the day when they reach there. This is so true that there have been ships which, when they were at the mouth of the harbor of Monte Rey, decided, as soon as they recognized it, not to enter it, but kept on their voyage with all sails spread. They felt that as soon as they sighted land anywhere they could go on, and, with favorable weather, reach the harbor of Acapulco in twenty-five or thirty days. The accidents and injuries caused by hurricanes--which are the things that place ships in jeopardy, and which oblige them to return to their port of departure, with so much loss--ordinarily occur from the time when they pass the cape of Spiritu Santo on the island of Manila, all along the chain of the Ladrones until they pass the end of Japon at the point called the Cape of Sestos and reach latitude thirty-two or thirty-three; consequently, the ship which receives such injuries always does so before entering the great gulf of Nueva España, and can find no place of refuge without returning to Japon or to the Philipinas. If its condition should permit it to sight the coast of Cape Mendocino after fifty days (the usual length of time), its troubles would be practically over. On this account, and since the harbor of Monte Rrey is so situated that when the ships from the Philipinas reach it they feel that their voyage to the harbor of Acapulco within twenty-five or thirty days is certain, as has been said, and since it has never been known to occur that a ship after sighting land has been obliged to put back, therefore the Marques declares that, as the object is to provide ships with a harbor where they may land, or at least touch and refit, the harbor should be provided, or at least be sought, where it may be of use before the vessels enter the great gulf of Nueva España. This he urges the more because there are two islands in latitude thirty-four or thirty-five, named Rrica de Oro and Rrica de Plata, [48] to the west of the harbor of Monte Rey and in almost the same latitude though very distant in longitude. Those who have undertaken that voyage and have made it declare that both these islands are very well suited to be places of refitting for the ships from the Philipinas, and that it would be advantageous to find them again and colonize one of them for this purpose. Regarding this as certain, the Marques thinks that the exploration and colonizing in question should be mainly at these islands, being committed to some person of competence, care, and fidelity. For this he judges that the said Sevastian Vizcayno would be suitable, because he would know, as well as anyone could, the way to the harbor of Monte Rrey, being already acquainted with it. If the commission were entrusted to him, it would be well for him to go from Acapulco as commander of the ships for the Philipinas, returning from Manila with two small and lightly-laden ships for no other purpose than the discovery; for if he were to return as commander [of the trading fleet] the merchandise and stuffs of the inhabitants of Manila would run great risk of being detained on the voyage, and of suffering some loss, and the owners would have a right to recover damages from my royal treasury. Then after the new harbor which is affirmed to exist shall have been discovered, Sevastian Vizcayno may go as commander in the year following, and may make a beginning of refitting a station there with the trading ships, so that the navigation may be opened. After this report had been brought before my Council of the Yndias and my Council of War for those lands, and had been discussed there, both sides having been considered by me, the suggestions of the said Marques of Montes Claros were approved by me. Therefore I command you that since he declares that the two islands, Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata, in latitude thirty-four or thirty-five, will be much more suitable than the harbor of Monte Rey as a port in which the ships of the Filipinas trade may refit, you shall suspend for the present the opening to navigation and the settlement of the harbor of Monte Rey. I command you that, in conformity with the opinion of the said Marques of Montes Claros, you shall give the charge of the expedition to Sevastian Vizcayno; and shall cause to be undertaken the discovery, settlement, and opening to navigation of a harbor in one of the said islands, Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata, as shall seem best and most suitable for the purpose intended. For the present I intrust to you the choice of all that concerns the matter. On account of my trust in your prudence and caution, and my confidence that you will not permit any excessive expense, I license you to expend from my royal exchequer, for all the aforesaid and for the arrangement of all other requisites, all the money needed, drawing the same from my royal treasury of the City of Mexico. I sanction and command the granting by you to the colonists of the same privileges that were granted in my decree of August 19, one thousand six hundred and six, to those who should go to colonize the port of Monte Rey. In case it seems to them that the latter port is entirely preferable to either of the two islands referred to, you will execute the decree previously issued with reference to the said colonization and opening to navigation of the said port of Monte Rey; and by this my decree I command my accountants for my Council of the Yndias to record this command. Dated at [_word partly illegible_; Aranjuez?] September 27, one thousand six hundred and eight.

_I The King_

Certified to by Juan de Civica and signed by the members of the Council of War of the Yndias.

The King: To Don Luis de Velasco, my viceroy, governor and captain-general of the provinces of Nueva España, or to the person or persons in whose charge the government may be. Having understood that as a way-station for the vessels in the Philippine trade, one of these islands, Rrica de Oro and Rrica de Plata, would be more suitable than the port of Monte Rey--which had been explored, and for the opening and colonization of which orders had been issued--because the former are in a better situation: by a decree of the twenty-seventh of September of the past year, I commanded you to suspend for the time being the opening and settlement of the said port of Monte Rey, and to undertake the exploration, settlement, and opening of one of those two islands, Rrica de Oro and Rrica de Plata, as it appeared better and more suitable for the object desired; and you were to spend from my royal exchequer whatever money was necessary for this, and settle other matters, as should be expedient. You were to concede to the settlers the same privileges as were accorded to those who were to go to settle the port of Monte Rey; and in case it still appeared to you that the latter was better fitted than either of the two islands, you were to execute what I had ordered you to do in connection with its settlement and opening, as is explained more at length in my said decree, to which I refer you. But now Hernando de los Rios Coronel, procurator-general of the said islands, has represented to me that in any case it is best that the said exploration should be made from the Filipinas, and not from Nueva España--both to avoid the great expense which would fall on the royal exchequer, if the ships for this expedition were built there, as all marine supplies are very dear in your country, and difficult to procure; and also because it would be necessary to make that voyage at hazard, mainly, and there would be great danger of not finding the islands and of losing the results of the voyage and the expenses incurred. For they are in a high latitude, and far distant from your country of Nueva España; and, besides, as all those who should go on this expedition would necessarily take a large amount of money to invest in the Philipinas (for, as the ships are to go back empty, they would take the opportunity to lade them with merchandise), they might, in order not to lose their goods by going on the exploration, draw up an information on the ship (as has been done at other times), saying that on account of storms, or for some other reason, they were unable to make the islands. But if the said discovery were made from the Philipinas, all these difficulties would be avoided; for it is evident that the cost and danger would be much less, as the two islands to be discovered are so near at hand that they can almost go and take them with their merchant ships. All the rest may be arranged merely by ordering that, having made the discovery, they shall come back to the Philipinas without going to Nueva España; for in this way there will be no reason for them to lade their vessels with merchandise. Furthermore, there are in the Philipinas trustworthy persons for this affair, to whom it may be entrusted; and the sailors there are more competent, since they have more experience. Having again considered this in our Council for the Yndias, it has seemed best to command you, and you are so commanded and ordered, that if you have not begun to carry out the preparations for this exploration, as I have ordered you to do, and if you have not so advanced them as to make it inconvenient or very expensive to abandon it, you shall examine and consider with especial attention whether, for the suitable execution and less cost of the exploration, it would be expedient to place it in the hands of my governor and captain-general of the said Philipinas Islands, so that he may proceed to undertake it from those islands. And if it appear to you that this plan is expedient, you shall send at the first opportunity to my said governor the letter which will accompany this, for him, in which he is so ordered; and at the same time you will remit to him the money that in your opinion may be necessary, which is not to exceed the twenty thousand ducats, which I had granted for the settlement of the port of Monte Rey Dated at San Lorenzo el Real, on the third of May of the year one thousand six hundred and nine.

_I The King_

Countersigned by Juan de Civica; signed by the members of the Council.

Letters from Felipe III to Silva

_Personal services from the Indians_

The King: To Don Juan de Silva, my governor and captain-general of the Philipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia of Manila; or to the person or persons in whose charge that government may be. Having been advised from various parts of the Yndias, of the great vexations suffered by the Indians who pay tribute to their encomenderos in personal services, I have despatched decrees to all the viceroys, presidents, and governors of the Yndias, commanding that the encomenderos, judges, or commissaries of assessment shall not commute, or be paid in personal services, the tributes of the Indians. This same is my wish and my will, and is to be observed and executed in all provinces that are or may be under your charge; and you will not tolerate the said commutation, from the abuse of which have resulted so great evils and complaints as was the case when personal service was maintained; it must be entirely done away with in that region. For this good object you will immediately give official notice to the Indians who now pay their tributes in this form; and whatever they are to pay shall be received from them in produce that they possess and gather from their own lands, or in money, as may seem the least oppressive and most convenient for the Indians. For the same end, if any encomendero shall violate in any manner any of the provisions of this clause, he shall incur the loss of his encomienda; and any royal official who shall be guilty of this, or of concealing it, shall be deprived of his office. At Aranjuez, on the twenty-sixth of May, of one thousand six hundred and nine.

_I The King_

Countersigned by Juan de Cívica; signed by the members of the Council.

_Proposal of Dominicans to found a college_

The King: To Don Juan de Silva, my governor and captain-general, and the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the Philipinas Islands: The bishop of Nueva Segovia wrote to me in a letter of June 20, 1606, that he and the former archbishop had discussed the founding of a college there, where there could be as many as twenty collegiate students of theology and the arts. For this purpose, before the death of the archbishop, [49] he outlined a plan to purchase some buildings near the convent of Santo Domingo, in which the college could be established. In the mean time, while the work was being carried out, or until I should otherwise decree, it should be administered by the Order of Saint Dominic. In order to avoid certain difficulties, one of the articles of foundation was that the writings of St. Thomas should be read, as is done in the reformed universities; and the income derived from the Indians was to be devoted to the support of the collegians, the college being under obligation to attend to the lawsuits and causes of the Indians, soliciting for them, and making their petitions, and aiding the protector whom I had appointed for them. The chairs were to be two, one of arts, and the other of theology; and the professors were to be appointed by the archbishop and the governor, one or two auditors of the Audiencia there, and the provincials of orders whom I should approve. For the present, as it is so good a work, the lectures were to be given by the incumbents without remuneration, since it is certain that more austere orders give instruction without it; and the degrees could be given as is done in the convent of Santo Thomas de Avila, also of the Dominican order. By this plan a university with its expenses may be dispensed with, and dignity and assistance be conferred on that country. As I wish to know from you what is your opinion on the subject, I command you, when you shall have examined and considered it with attention, to inform me in regard to the whole matter in great detail, so that, having examined it, suitable measures and decrees can be provided. At Segovia, July 29, 1609.

_I The King_

Countersigned by Juan de Cívica; signed by the members of the Council.

Expeditions to the Province of Tuy

_Relation of the information that we possess regarding the province of Tuy, and the wanderings of those who went to explore it, each singly; and the condition in which the said exploration was left. What is known of the characteristics of the said province, and the great importance of completing the exploration of it all, and pacifying and colonizing it, for the preaching of the holy gospel; of its fertility and the excellent disposition of the people, of whom it is understood that they will readily accept the holy Catholic faith, because it has pleased God that the cursed sect of Mahoma, which is being extended through this archipelago, has [not] yet arrived there_.

_Guido de Lavaçares_. When Guido de Lavaçares was governor of these islands, he sent an expedition to explore this land, as he had learned of a densely-populated and very fertile province eighty leguas from the city of Manila, in the northern part of these islands. For this exploration he sent Captain Chacon; but the latter managed the affair so poorly that, after having covered half the distance and reached the place called Bongavon, he returned to the city of Manila with his men, under pretext of having no guides, without bringing any account.

_Doctor Santiago de Vera_. Doctor Santiago de Vera, who succeeded to the said office, having been informed of the same region, sent an Indian chief, named Don Dionisio Capolo, who is still living. He gave the latter one hundred Indians for the said exploration. This man returned after having gone sixty leguas from Manila--twenty more than the former expedition--on the said exploration. He reported that Indians of the country, his acquaintances, upon learning his errand, advised him not to proceed farther, for the people whom he was going to discover were numerous and warlike, and were hostile and would kill him. And inasmuch as he had no order to fight, and had but few men, he returned.

_Gomez Perez Dasmariñas_. In the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-one, Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, governor of the said islands, sent his son, Don Luis Perez Dasmariñas, with seventy or eighty Spanish soldiers, and many Indian chiefs of La Pampanga, who were going with their arms and men to serve with Don Luis, to explore the province now called Tuy. The chiefs took more than one thousand four hundred Indian bearers. Don Luis, having reached the river called Tuy, [50] which is at the entrance of the said province, ordered a cross to be made there on a tree, rendered thanks to God, and took possession, in his Majesty's name, on the fifteenth of July of the said year. On the sixteenth, after having told the inhabitants of that village, which was called Tuy, that he came in order to make them friends of the Castilians, and to have them render homage to his Majesty, so that the latter might take them under his royal protection, and so that they might be instructed in matters of the faith--for which he [Don Luis] had brought religious; and after having given them a few small articles, as pieces of cloth, garments, beads, and combs: they accepted the situation, and promised to pay tribute and recognition in due season. They swore peace after their own manner, which consisted in Don Luis and another another--a chief, who spoke for all--each taking an egg, and throwing the eggs to the ground at the same time; they said together that just as those eggs had been broken, so they would be broken, should they not fulfil their promises.

_Bantal; Bugay; Burat_. That same day, Don Luis summoned other chiefs of the villages of Bantal, Bugay, and Burat, and after the same ceremonies as on other occasions, ordered them, since they were friends and vassals of his Majesty, to bring their wives (whom they had placed in the mountains) to the villages. Although he so ordered them twice, they declined, saying that they were keeping them in another village in order to amuse them, and give them time to rest from the care of their houses, and that it would be impossible to bring them at this time. Another chief, named Tuy--after whom the province was thus named, and who had not taken part in making peace--as soon as he knew this, reproved the Indians severely for having made peace; and he caused them to break it by hostilities. Don Luis also heard that a great number of armed Indians were in the mountains. He attacked the trenches of the fort built by a troop of Indians, who declared with loud boasting that they desired no peace, even if the Spaniards were to go farther to see other villages. The natives set fire to the village of Tuy itself, which was totally burned, with the houses within the fort--although all the means possible were exerted, and some soldiers risked their lives--as the houses were all roofed with nipa and were built of wood, compactly constructed and built, with their streets evenly laid out.

_A notable case_. All the village having been burned, together with some houses near a cross, the latter did not catch fire on the front side facing the street, but only at the back. And although the rattan that fastened the arm of the cross was burned, the arm did not fall, or destroy the shape of the cross. And while there was not a single stick left unburned in the village, the fire did not leave mark or stain on the front of the cross, but it retained the same color as when set up. Alonso Vela, notary of the expedition, testified to the truth of this.

_Tuy, sixty houses; Bantal, thirty houses; Burat y Buguey, with five hundred houses_. Don Luis afterward arrived at three villages, one of sixty houses, another of thirty, and the third of five hundred. There were no people there, but he learned of two provinces, one called Danglay and the other Guamangui; and that inhabitants of the above villages had gone to join those of the said provinces, although before that time they had been hostile to them.

The chiefs of Sicat, Barat, Tuy, Bugat, and Bantal begged pardon of Don Luis for the past, promising peace and the payment of the tribute in products of the land. They took oath according to another custom--each chief taking a candle in his hand and Don Luis one in his, and saying that so would he, who failed to keep his promise, or who broke his promise in whole or in part, be consumed even as that candle was consumed. Then they extinguished the candles, saying that just as that candle expired and was consumed, just so would he who broke his promise be slain and perish. Then the tribute for that year was conceded to them, whereat they were very happy.

_Acknowledgment: Tuy; Sicat; Ybarat; Bugay; Bantal._ On July 29, the village of Tuy paid its acknowledgment, consisting of seven little trinkets of gold in the shape of necklaces; that of Sicat, three maes of gold and two canutos of rice; Barat, six little gold trinkets in the form of necklaces of the value of four maes, and two canutos of rice; Bugay, thirteen small gold necklaces valued at eight maes, a small string of beads, and two canutos of rice; Bantal, five small gold necklaces valued at three maes, and two canutos of rice.

_Dangla Province_. On the thirty-first, Don Luis left Tuy, going down the valley, following the course of the principal stream, a large river, which at Cayan gives a passage to the province of Dangla. The chiefs of the province came to see him, whom he informed that the inhabitants of Tuy, Bantal, and other villages, accepted the peace. They took the oath, with the ceremony of the egg, and rendered acknowledgment in small gold necklaces of the value of eight maes, and ten _bandines_.