Chapter 22

By command of Señor Don Luis de Belasco, viceroy of this country of Nueva Spaña, in compliance with a clause of a letter from his Majesty--whereby he was commanded to advise his Majesty of the religious who, going under his orders to the Philipinas, have remained here, and what was the occasion of it; and in particular of those who remained of my company, two years ago--I, Diego Aduarte, declare as follows, having come as his vicar; and I call God to witness that in all I tell the truth.

In the month of July of 1605 I sailed from Spaña, with thirty-eight religious of my order, whom I was empowered by his Majesty's decrees to convey thither; and none were lacking. Among these there were only four lay brethren; and of the rest, who were priests (they being the majority), all except one were preachers and confessors; and those who were not such had studied sufficiently to be ordained as priests for mass--as all of them now are, and actual ministers, who preach and hear confessions in various languages which they have learned, much to the service of God and the increase of His church. I arrived in this country of Nueva Spaña with all the said thirty-eight religious, where two of my priests died. One of them was named Fray Dionisio de Rueda, who had come from Valencia, of which he was a native; the other, Fray Pablo Colmenero, who came from Salamanca, and was a native of Galicia. [60] Both of them were religious of excellent abilities. I embarked at the port of Acapulco for the Philipinas, with only twenty-eight. Although it is true that at the time of embarkation some nine were absent, who had not yet arrived at the port, yet even if they had arrived they could in no wise have been embarked; for the ship which was given me was very small, and had accommodations for no more than twelve friars at the most. So true is this, that the treasurer of his Majesty of this City Of Mexico, one Birbiesca, who was then at the port to despatch the ships by command of the Marques de Montesclaros, told me not to embark more than twelve. This I swear to be true _in verbo sacerdotis_. I left in that very port several religious, with permission and order to return to Mexico until they could go to the Philipinas; and I was many times sorry for those whom I had embarked, on account of the poor accommodations that we had. Four of them died at sea, between here and the Philipinas (three of these being priests, and the other not), all of them being friars from whom much was hoped. I have made information of all this before the notary of the ship itself (who was called Francisco de Vidaurre), with witnesses who were aboard--which, with the favor of God, I myself shall take to España, as I am now on the way there. This was in the year of 1606.

The very next year two religious of my company--priests, confessors, and preachers, Fray Jacinto Orfanel and Fray Joseph de San Jacinto--went to the Philipinas with Don Rodrigo de Mendoza, nephew of the marques, who was commander for two patajes; and this year, 608, I sent four others of the same qualifications with the lord governor, Don Rodrigo de Bibero.

Thus of all my company, except six who have died, only one has failed to go to the Philippinas. To this one, I confess, I gave permission to remain; and he is at present in the province of Oaxaca as minister and interpreter, and so has not been obtained for it unfairly, since religious go from Spaña to this province also at the cost of the royal exchequer. It was at the time expedient and even necessary to give the permission; and if his Majesty should try to tie the hands of him who takes the religious in charge, in this matter, it would be the occasion of many grave injuries to his royal service, and still more to that of God, for the new church in the Philippinas can be entrusted only to ministers with the apostolic spirit. For, in order to persuade to the faith, the lack of miracles must be made good by the life of the minister, which, when apostolic, is so much the more a power, as the ability to work miracles is less; for the force of example, and that of miracles which the apostles had to convert the world then, must now be contained in the life of the minister. In truth this is more important for the heathen than are miracles, if it be what it ought. But it is impossible for the superior who takes them in his charge to become acquainted with them before he engages them, as there is no opportunity for that in Spaña, or hardly even to know their names; for after procuring his decrees at court, almost all his time is necessary, up to the embarkation, to get his ship-supplies in Sevilla and set affairs in order there. And if he must go about seeking religious in one house and another, through all Castilla and Aragon, as far as Barcelona, how can he have time to become gradually acquainted with them, as he should do? Although it is true that, if he supplies religious to this country by his authority, when he has become acquainted with them, it is a loss to the royal exchequer, to the amount that he has spent for them without carrying out his Majesty's intentions; yet, if they should go on farther, that purpose would be much less successful, and the expenses would be greater. It is less harmful to spend some money ill, than a great deal to the loss, perhaps, of souls, whose welfare is the object of these expenditures. In the government of man, to attempt to flee from difficulties is the greatest hindrance of all; accordingly, the difficulties that may be encountered in this matter can best be avoided by not entrusting this work to anyone except some very trustworthy religious; then his Majesty, being thoroughly informed in regard to him, can place entire confidence in him. For as he must do this with men in his royal service, there is no reason why he should not do as much here, for his agent is a priest and a religious, with greater obligations to keep his conscience pure than has a secular minister; nor is he ignorant of the fidelity which he owes his king and lord, and how great a sin it would be against justice, and what obligation there would be for restitution of money ill spent. The truth is that anyone to whom his Majesty entrusts this could, if he did not proceed with great exactness, very legitimately excuse himself by saying that what was ordered to be given him for the despatch is not enough, by far, and so he is spending on a few what is given him for the many; since it is hardly enough for even the few--having recourse, for the external forum, to equivocal answers. It is actually true, that the provision that his Majesty orders to be given, in Sevilla and in Mexico, for supplies on the two seas, and for the support of the religious in these two cities, is extremely scanty; and if his Majesty does not increase it he can have no just complaint against the religious who may act thus. In Sevilla he orders that two reals be given for each religious, every day; but three are necessary, at the least. In Mexico, he orders that four be given; but it is certain that six to each man would be little for their food, clothing, and shoes, and for the ordinary expenses of a house. In Sevilla there is assigned, for the supplies of each religious on the voyage, 22 ducats; whereas 40 at least are necessary, and, if it be a year of high prices, 50. In Mexico, for supplies on the other sea, and to pay the charges to the muleteers who transport the goods to Acapulco, and the expenses of the journey to that point with the religious, there is given for each one 150 pesos; but 200 are needed, and even that does not suffice. The reason for all this is, that these rates were set a long time ago, when things were much cheaper than at present; for goods could be bought for these sums to a much greater amount. This would be cause for the religious to plead that the [actual] expenses incurred for him should be allowed; and there is no other way [in which this difficulty can be settled].

Of both things we have illustration enough in this journey which was begun by father Fray Gabriel de San Antonio (whom may God keep in heaven), for, on account of the scanty aid that was given him at Sevilla, he left there a debt of one thousand two hundred ducados; and if his Majesty does not pay this, I know not whence his creditors will procure it. Then, as he had not the necessary freedom to dispose of his friars, seeing that there was no fleet that year, which is a second instance, he did what he should not have done--namely, among twenty-four religious whom he embarked with him, he took seven laymen, and, of the rest, one was insufficiently educated, and others were ill suited for the work in the Philipinas; so that counting those who were well fitted to go, they would not number twelve. It seems that he wished only to make it appear to the Council that he was embarking with friars, since this was commanded so insistently. He had, as I have been told, thirty religious quite suitable for the journey, ready to embark in the fleet; but as there was no fleet, and they saw that according to the orders of the Council they must embark in the heart of winter, and in weak craft, they, being discreet, returned to the houses from which they had come; and father Fray Gabriel, to comply with his orders, sought others in their places, most of whom did not fill the places of the others, or come near doing so. From this resulted many expenses that might have been avoided; for if those who returned had been left in the convents of Andalucia, to come over in the fleet this year, all the expenses that were incurred would be obviated, and they would arrive at the proper time to go to the Philippinas, as they would come in the patages. Even if not all came, most of them could come, and none of these would have to be refused, as we have to do now--for, if the lord viceroy does not give permission to leave some, there is no use to consider sending religious there. Then I, who am going to seek them in España, for the second time, with so many labors and dangers, would find them half way, without the least cost to myself. Supplicate and beg this from his Excellency, by the bowels of Christ. The objection raised is that it will not be expedient for them to go; but I hope through God that it will be so, and that it will be explained to his Majesty that it is very important for his service. This is the truth, which I am bound to tell my king and lord, as his faithful vassal and servant, which I am.

_Fray Diego Aduarte_

_Jesus, Mary_

Father Fray Antonio de Santo Angel, procurator-general of the order of the discalced friars of our father St. Augustine, declares that in the year 1608 your Majesty gave permission to father Fray Pedro de San Fulgencio, of the said order, to return to the Philipinas Islands, taking with him thirty religious of his order, and six servants for their service. In the said year he was obliged to go to Rome to secure some favors and jubilees from his Holiness; but an illness attacked him, and our Lord saw fit to take him unto Himself. For this reason his embarkation for the Philipinas did not take place, as he died on the way; and the funds that were given him for the purpose were lost. Since it has pleased the divine Majesty that the discalced Augustinian religious who are in those parts [61] should succeed in so satisfactory and exemplary a manner, preaching the holy gospel and giving the light of our holy Catholic faith, and so earnestly striving for its increase--as your Majesty is informed by the archbishop of Manila, and the city and cabildo, and the bishop of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus. For all point out to your Majesty the great importance of sending religious of this holy order to the Philipinas; and that it is better to maintain there those who have been discalced, than those who enter from among the calced and are not instructed in the austerity to which the discalced are obliged. For this reason our very holy father, Paul V, separated and divided us from the calced fathers; and accordingly our father-general sent them a notification that his Holiness had separated them, and had sent an order that they should form a chapter and appoint a provincial--as will appear from the papers which I present, and from the letters of the archbishop of Manila, and from the bishop of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus, and from the letter from the city of Manila. From the letters of the religious it will be plain to your Majesty how important it is for the service of our Lord to have a head and superior of the same penitent mode of life, so that this reformation may be preserved, and they may with fervor continue to gain souls for heaven and the increase of our holy Catholic faith. I therefore beg your Majesty to grant us the same despatches that were given to us for the said voyage, so that we may receive the favor of it. I likewise present the letter written by the Audiencia of Manila, in which your Audiencia states what are its intentions when anything is asked on the part of the Recollects.

Bibliographical Data

All the documents contained in this volume are obtained from original MSS. in various foreign archives--excepting only that the _Relation_ of Maldonado (1606) is from a printed pamphlet. Most of them are from the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla, their pressmarks as follows.

1. _Complaints against the archbishop_.--(a) Letters from Acuña and the Augustinians: "Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años de 1600 á 1628; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 7." (b) Letter from the Audiencia: "Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del presidente y oidores de dicha Audiencia vistos en el Consejo; años de 1600 á 1612; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 19."

2. _Relations with the Chinese_.--(a) Memorials by archbishop: "Simancas--Eclesiastico; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y espedientes del arzobispo de Manila vistos en el Consejo; años 1579 á 1679; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 32." (b). Letter to viceroy of Ucheo: the same as No. 1 (a). (c) Chinese immigration restricted: the same as No. 1 (b).

3. _Letters from Acuña_.--(a) Letters of July 1 and 8: the same as No. 1 (a). (b) Letter of July 15: the same as No. 1 (b).

4. _Dominican mission of 1606_.--"Simancas--Eclesiastico; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes de religiosos misioneros en Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años de 1569 á 1616; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 37."

5. _Dutch factory at Tidore_.--The same as No. 1 (b).

6. _Letter from the Audiencia_, 1606.--The same as No. 1 (b).

7. _Letter from the fiscal_.--The same as No. 1 (b).

8. _Chinese immigration_.--(a) Report of ships: the same as No. 1 (b). (b) Letters from Felipe III: "Audiencia de Filipinas; registros de oficio reales ordenes dirigidas á las autoridades del distrito de la Audiencia; años 1597 á 1634; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 1."

9. _Petition for grant to seminary_.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; consultas originales correspondientes á dicha Audiencia; años de 1586 á 1636; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 1."

10. _Artillery at Manila_.--The same as No. 1 (b).

11. _Confraternity of La Misericordia_.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del presidente y oidores de dicha Audiencia vistos en el Consejo; años 1607 á 1626; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 20."

12. _Receipts and expenditures of Philippine government_.--The same as No. 1 (a).

13. _Decrees regarding way-station for vessels_, 1608-09.--The same as No. 8 (b).

14. _Letters to Silva_.--The same as No. 8 (b).

15. _Expeditions to Tuy_.--The same as No. 1 (a).

16. _Petition of Filipino chief_.--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y espedientes de personas seculares vistos en el Consejo; años de 1607 á 1613; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 36."

17. _Despatch of missionaries_.--The same as No. 4. The following is from the Real Academia de Historia, Madrid:

18. _Relation by Maldonado_, 1606.--"Papeles jesuitas, tomo 92, núm. 40." (A printed pamphlet.)

The following is from the British Museum, London:

19. _Decree regarding way-station for vessels_, 1606.--"Papeles varios de Indias; Mus. Brit, jure emptionis; 13,976 Plut. CXC.D; folios 469-472a."

The following is from the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid:

20. _Letter to Acuña_, 1606.--"Cedulario Indico, t. 38, fol. 114, no. 89."

The following are from the Archivo general, Simancas:

21. _Terrenate expedition_.--"Secretario de Estado, legajo 205."

22. _Trade with Mexico_.--"Secretario de Estado, leg. 2637."

23. _Passage of missionaries_.--The same as No. 22.

NOTES

[1] The sense is here somewhat incomplete; there may be some omission in the text.

[2] _Fuerza_: injury committed by an ecclesiastical judge; see _Vol_. v, p. 292.

[3] Apparently a reference to the organization of "el Nuevo Reino ['the new kingdom'] de Granada," afterward known as Nueva (or New) Granada; a name applied in the nineteenth century to the country now known as United States of Colombia. This region was conquered by Gonzalo Jiminez Quesada in 1537, its capital (established August 6, 1538) being Santa Fé de Bogota.

[4] In the original there is a brief summary at the head of each paragraph, for the convenience of the council in considering the document.

[5] The botanical name of the clove is _Caryophyllus aromaticus_. See Crawfurd's excellent account, both descriptive and historical, of this valued product, in his _Dict. of Indian Islands_, pp. 101-105. Cf. the account by Duarte Barbosa, in _East Africa and Malabar_ (Hakluyt Soc. publications No. 35, London, 1866), pp. 201, 219, 227; he says, among other things: "And the trees from which they do not gather it for three years after that become wild, so that their cloves are worth nothing." Crawfurd says: "It is only in its native localities, the five small islets [Moluccas] on the western coast of the large island of Gilolo, that it is easily grown, and attains the highest perfection. There, it bears in its seventh or eighth year, and lives to the age of 130 or 150." He also states that the Dutch, in their attempt to secure the monopoly of the clove trade, exterminated the clove trees from the Moluccas, and endeavored to limit their growth to the five Amboyna islands, in which they had introduced the clove.

[6] Referring to the military order of St. John of Jerusalem, to which Acuña belonged.

[7] The Spanish form of the name of Mechlin, an important city of Belgium, between Antwerp and Brussels. The reference in the text is probably to some law enacted by the emperor Charles V while holding his court at Mechlin, during his long stay in the Netherlands.

[8] Diego Aduarte was born at Zaragoza, about 1570, and at the age of sixteen entered a Dominican convent at Alcalá de Henares. In 1594 he joined the mission to the Philippines, arriving at Manila June 12, 1595. In the following January Aduarte accompanied the expedition sent by Luis Dasmariñas to Cambodia (see _Vol_. IX, pp. 161-180, 265, 277); the result of this was disastrous, and after many dangers and hardships, and a long illness, he returned to Manila on June 24, 1597. Two years later he went to China, to rescue Dasmariñas (stranded there after another unsuccessful expedition to Cambodia), and remained until February, 1600. Soon afterward he went to Spain on business of his order, arriving there in September, 1603. There he obtained a reënforcement of missionaries for the Philippines, arriving at the islands in August, 1606. He was again despatched to Spain (July, 1607), where he remained until 1628; he then returned to the Philippines with another missionary band. He was seen afterward elected prior of the convent at Manila, and later became bishop of Nueva Segovia; but exercised the latter office only a year and a half, dying in the summer of 1636. Aduarte's _Historia de la provincia del Sancto Rosario_ (Manila, 1640) is his chief work; we shall present it in later volumes of this series. See biography of Aduarte in _Reseña biografica de los religiosos de la provincia del Santísimo Rosario de Filipinas_ (Manila, 1891), pp. 148-172.

[9] Master (Latin _magister_, Spanish _maestro_): a title of honor given to religious of venerable age or distinguished services; see Du Cange, _s.vv. dominus ordinis, magister ordinis_.

[10] So in the MS., but apparently an error of _cuatro_ for _cinco_ ("five"), as the evidence of this and the other documents of this group indicates that this warrant was given in 1605, not 1604.

[11] The garment placed by the tribunal of the Inquisition upon persons who, after trial, became penitent and were reconciled to the church.

[12] San Juan de Ulua (or Lua, also Ulloa), in Mexico, was thus named (1518) for St. John and in honor of Juan Grijalva, one of Cortés's officers, who in that year discovered Yucatan. In the summer of the following year, Cortés founded, not far from this place, the city of Vera Cruz.

[13] In our copy of this document (the official transcript) the text reads _que son 80 pesos_; but as in half a year but two of these tri-yearly payments would be made, it seems more probable that this was intended for _20 pesos_.

[14] Gabriel Quiroga de San Antonio came to the Philippines in 1595, and was assigned to the mission among the Chinese in Binondo; but he could not learn their language, and, becoming discouraged thereat, returned to Spain. Finally, being troubled by his conscience for having abandoned his post, he obtained permission from his superiors to conduct a band of new missionaries to the islands. Embarking with them, he was overcome by sickness and the hardships of the voyage, and died before reaching Mexico (1608). He was appointed (apparently after his departure on this journey) bishop of Nueva Caceres.

[15] The word "factory," as here used, refers to the place where the factors, or agents, of a commercial company reside and transact the business entrusted to them.

[16] These names are merely phonetic renderings of the names of certain Dutch cities. Absterdaem and Ambstradama are for Amsterdam; Yncussa (and probably Cuyssem), for Enkhuysen (or Enchuysen); Campem, for Campen; Amberes, for Antwerp; Millburg, for Middleburg; Horrem, for Hoorn. Olanda and Gelanda are for Holland and Zeeland.

[17] That is: Achin (or Acheen), in Sumatra; Pajang, a province in Java; and Bengal, in India.

[18] At the end of this pamphlet is the imprint, showing that permission to print it was given to Clemente Hidalgo on May 9, 1606; and that it was printed by him in the same year, at Sevilla. It was sold at the establishments of Melchor Goncalez and Rafael Charte.

[19] In the margin: "The Parian, establishment and residence of the Sangleys, on the other side of the Manila River."

[20] The leaves of a species of palm (_Nipa fruticans_), used as thatch to cover houses.

[21] Probably a misprint for Moros.

[22] Cf. La Concepción's account of this insurrection, in _Hist. de Philippinas_, iv, pp. 52-64.

[23] At this point, in the printed original, follow the words _tribuleco llamadotin_--evidently some typographical error.

[24] This letter will be found in _Vol_. XIII, pp. 287-291; Morga also gives it in his _Sucesos_ (which will be presented in our _Vols_. XV and XVI).

[25] Korea had been conquered by the Japanese in 1592, but soon afterward was partially regained by the Chinese (_Vol_. VIII, pp. 260-262; IX, pp. 36, 44, 46). The death of the Japanese ruler Hideyoshi (1598), and the consequent recall of the Japanese troops, left affairs between the three countries unsettled; finally Iyeyasu, ruler of Japan, made peace with Korea and China, in 1605.