Chapter 3

Most potent lord: The archbishop of these Filipinas declares that, as such archbishop, he is under obligation to look after the condition of these islands and of the Christian religion in them; and, as a member of the Council of his Majesty, to protect the interests of his royal crown, and of this his dominion--all of which, according to the counsels of prudence, is at the present moment in great danger. This danger is one of the greatest that could be, for the powerful king of China has threatened us with an enormous fleet of ships, saying that there will be a thousand of them if we do not grant what he demands in regard to two things. One of these is clearly just; for it concerns a great quantity of property which was brought into this city by the Chinese merchants last year, six hundred and three, when the Sangleys rebelled against this city. Your governor commanded that the said property, as belonging to enemies (as those who brought it here were), should be kept, and taken into custody, and should be given back to them. A great part of this property was afterward sold among the Spaniards and more than thirty thousand pesos of the proceeds of the said goods came into the possession of Diego de Marquina, general depositary of this city, by whom it was all (or nearly all) turned over to your royal treasury. The rest of the Chinese property came into the possession of Captain Sebastian de Aguilar, and any other person who may have received into his keeping and custody other goods belonging to the said property. The other thing which the said king of China demands is, that certain Chinese (of whom there are not many) who remained alive after the war and were at that time taken prisoners, and are in the galleys, should be given their liberty that they may go back to their own country. This is a matter for your Highness to examine carefully, to ascertain whether this be a just demand, and whether it can be justly exacted. Even if it were clearly and evidently just that the said Chinese should remain as convicts in the said galleys, this demand requires much consideration, on account of the condition of the faith and of the realm, whether this commonwealth must be forced to break with so powerful an enemy and enemies as he would be. He brings forward his arguments with much reason and consideration; by one of his demands--which of itself is not very important, although more so when, arriving at the question of justice--he brings up another doubt as to whether it is just for the said Chinese to be condemned to the galleys. This is questionable, in the first place, because they are not vassals of his Majesty, and therefore were not traitors; and likewise whether they should, on account of the hostilities which the Chinese were generally committing, immediately be condemned, without recourse, to the galleys, without being heard individually or their exceptions being received--especially as no one doubts that the said uprising and rebellion was not voluntary on the part of all the Chinese, but was contrary to the will of many; and it may be that some, and even a considerable number, of those who are on the galleys were not captured in war, but while hidden in the country districts and on the mountains. To say that the said Chinese are necessary to work the galleys which your governor must take on a certain expedition, which it is said he must make, does not affect the proposition; for the said expedition is not made by the will of his Majesty, but in his very exact instructions he neither requires nor permits the said expedition to Huaca [_sic; sc._ Maluco] with the said Chinese. Moreover, they are so cunning and shrewd that perhaps they will again do what they did to Gomez Perez, and even worse; and they may be the cause not only of the disastrous ending of the said expedition, but even of our complete ruin. There can be no doubt from the relation sent, as to the attitude of the king of China; for the three greatest magistrates whom he has in the province and dominion of Oquen (to which belongs the province of Chiencho)--that is, the viceroy, the inspector-general and the eunuch--write this, each one of them, in two letters, one of which is for the said archbishop and the other for the said governor of these islands.

In view of these considerations, I entreat and beseech your Highness to command that the said property [of the merchants] be immediately sent to the said kingdom of China, either by suitable messengers, or by the Chinese captains who are at present about to go there. The most certain and the first which should be sent would be that which comes into the royal treasury of his Majesty from the proceeds of the said goods of the said Chinese, even if it be necessary to ask for this a loan from the citizens of this country, or to economize, or to go without other things. As for giving their liberty to the said Chinese who are in the galleys I beseech your Highness to order that this be decided and examined into in great detail, especially as concerns justice; it should also be examined to ascertain the rights of the state. For this purpose, both in this affair and in other things which are presented before his Majesty's Council, some one who has great experience in Chinese affairs should be associated with them, and say what he thinks. The archbishop demands justice, and an attestation of this petition, and of what may be decreed in this matter, and of the entire proceedings; and that the decision may be made at once, so that these Chinese ships may convey the appropriate answer. As for our reputation, nothing will be lost by sending back the said Chinese, especially those who are not found to be very guilty; for no one loses reputation by doing justice, and the king of China and his ministers know very well that the decision of justice, and the separation of the innocent from the guilty, in so grave a case has demanded all the time which has elapsed up to the present. Finally his Majesty the king, our sovereign, [must be considered]; what he requires is that this colony, as the chief of all [his possessions here], where he has established so much good, should not be placed in danger by other matters which might be of uncertain success--especially for this consideration, which is of so little importance. Rather it is fitting to set free these Chinese, as far as possible, as experience has always proved to us, with so much cost of our blood, and so great danger of the ruin of this land.

_Fray Miguel_, archbishop of Manila.

At Manila, on the tenth of June, 1605, the lords president and auditors of the royal Audiencia and Chancilleria of the Filipinas Islands, being in session, this petition was read, and examined by the said lords. They commanded this petition to be joined with the ones presented by the Chinese in this matter, and brought to the session on Monday.

Before me:

_Pedro Nuñez de Herrera_, notary royal.

Most potent lord: The archbishop of the Filipinas declares that he has presented a petition, discussing therein what is demanded on the part of the king of China in a letter from certain of his ministers, as is explained more at length in his said petition to which he refers you. He now says that, of the two things which are demanded, although the money is a matter of importance to the Chinese, yet what most grieves them is the men who, as they see, are here in the galleys, with such hardships and in a climate so hot and oppressive as this is--especially as they have parents, children, wives, and relatives in that country who are continually beseeching the Chinese magistrates and people. And he seeks the liberty of those who are here in our power, captive and condemned, and begs and entreats from your Highness what he has sought in the other petition. And more particularly he asks in this other if your Highness will order that especial attention be given to this; that even if it be true that the king of China will not make war upon us, as he threatens, yet I am warned by those Chinese who are our best friends that they know, from their own histories, that it is quite probable that the king of China will at least cut off the trade with these countries, under the heaviest penalties, which would be the total ruin of this commonwealth. The king of China did this to the Japanese, who formerly had trade and commerce with the Chinese between the two countries, the Chinese going to Japon and the Japanese going to China. The king of China, seeing that the Japanese did not maintain their trade with the care and honesty that they should, did not make war upon them, but took away their trade and commerce under a singularly vigorous penalty--which is, that if any Chinaman trades with the Japanese not only he but his father, mother, and relatives shall be put to death. This has remained the law up to the present, inviolably; and no Chinaman has transgressed it, unless it be some villainous and desperate man. This is one of the most important considerations to be judged in the present case. He begs and entreats your Highness to command that this be considered, and commands me to give an attestation of this petition and procedure.

_Fray Miguel_, archbishop of Manila.

In the city of Manila, on the thirteenth day of June of the year 1605, the lords president and auditors of the royal Audiencia and Chancillería of these Filipinas Islands being in session, this petition was read; and, having considered it, they decreed that the depositaries should be commanded to render an account as soon as possible, of the property which they have held on deposit, so that it may be surrendered; and that, when the ships shall have arrived from Castilla, what is owing shall be paid into the royal treasury. As concerns the Chinese who are in the galleys, the matter is being examined, so that suitable measures may be taken in the matter, and that a decision shall be reached and a decree issued before the Chinese leave. The attestations which he asks will be given to the archbishop, in the manner that he desires.

Before me,

_Pedro Hurtado Desquivel_

In fulfilment of which I, Pedro Hurtado Desquivel, notary of court for the king our lord in his royal Audiencia and Chancillería of these Filipinas Islands, have given this copy of the said petition and command, which is certified to be a true copy, corrected and compared with the originals which remain in my possession. Witnesses to the examination, copying, correction, and comparison: Pedro Nuñez de Herrera, Geronimo de Peralta. Manila, the seventh of July, of the year one thousand six hundred and five. In witness thereof, I have set my seal in attestation of truth.

_Pedro Hurtado Desquivel_, court notary.

Letter from Acuña to the Viceroy of Ucheo

Don Pedro de Acuña, etc. By the hands of Captain Juan San I received the letter of the lord viceroy in which he informs me that news has been carried to China that the Sangleys who came to trade with this realm of Luzon have been put to death by the Spaniards. He states that after having investigated the cause of their death, and having asked the king to execute justice upon the author of so great a wrong, he learned that on account of the lies uttered by Tioguen we had suspected that the Sangleys were going to make war against us. On this account, as he was informed, we had put to death more than thirty thousand Chinese. The king had punished Tiogueng by commanding his head to be cut off and hung up in a cage, and had ordered Anglion, his companion, to be executed. He declared that the Chinese who had been slain in Luzon were not in fault. I reply to this that that which happened in this case is as stated in the accompanying letter--which I sent as soon as the event occurred, with a ship and a proper messenger, by way of Macan to the Portuguese who live there, who are vassals of our king. It was my intention that they should give it to the viceroy; and I sent similar letters to the eunuch and to the mandarins who were there. But the Portuguese were not well disposed to us, solely on account of their belief that the Chinese were in close friendship with us because of the trade and the large amount of commerce which we had with them; and that this is the cause why they are not able to buy merchandise at very low prices, as they would certainly do if the trade from here were to come to an end. Hence they brought it about that these letters were not delivered; and thus the truth of this matter could not be known in China, nor the fact that the Sangleys were greatly to blame for the losses which they incurred. If these things had been known the Chinese, well disposed as they are to the execution of justice according to law, and desirous that crimes should be punished, would certainly have regarded the fault of those people as greater than the punishment which was inflicted on them.

The penalty imposed on the Sangleys who piloted the two Dutch ships that were on the coast of Chincheo was very just. These Dutch are not friends of the Castilians, but bitter enemies; for, although they are vassals of the king of the Hespañas, my sovereign, they and their country have revolted, and they have become pirates like Liamon in China. They have no employment, except to plunder as much as they can. Hence they did not come to Luzon; and, if they should come, I would try to capture and punish them.

As for the statement that the letter is sent to let me know the greatness of the king of China and of his realms, and that they are so great that he governs all upon which the moon and the sun shed their light; and the other statement that he desires me to be acquainted with the great wisdom with which that kingdom is governed, vast as it is, and that no one should dare offend it, and referring to the war in Corea--to this I answer that the Spaniards have measured by palmos, and that very exactly, all the countries belonging to all the kings and lordships in the world. Since the Chinese have no commerce with foreign nations, it seems to them that there is no other country but their own, and that there is no higher greatness than theirs; but if he knew the power of some of the kings with whom my sovereign, the king of the Hespañas, carries on continual war, the whole of China would seem to him very small. The king of China would do well to notice that from here to the court of Hespaña the distance is five thousand leguas; and that on the voyage thither are two kingdoms, Nueva Hespaña and Peru, whose teiritory is so great that it is almost equal to that of China, without mentioning very large islands in those seas. At the same time I know that the kingdom of China is governed with much wisdom, and all the people here know, and I know, of the war in Corea.

The Sangleys who were killed here when they revolted were not thirty thousand, or even half as many.

As for the statement that after the death of the Sangleys was known in China, many mandarins joined in a concerted petition to the king that they might be allowed to avenge those deaths--accusing the Spaniards of being cruel and ungrateful, and charging us that after the Chinese had aided us to erect our walls and other buildings, and in our gardens (all to our profit), we ought not to have done this--to this I reply that the Spaniards are not cruel of heart, and never make war upon anyone without just reasons. We regard ourselves as a just people and as having a standing in the world; and we would be greatly grieved if it could be said of us with truth that we have done wrongs or injuries to anyone--especially to our friends, and to those who are sincerely friends to us. Thus in the case of the Sangleys who were here, we treated them as brothers and sons; and, without any precaution, we permitted them to enter our houses at all seasons and at all hours, as if they had been Spaniards. So true was this that, if God had not delivered us by revealing their treachery, they might for that very cause have been able to succeed in it.

I have noted the answer given by the king of China to letters written by the viceroy and others with regard to this matter. I think that he ought to be fair in all matters, and that he should not be influenced to make war on Luzón without first knowing whether we are in fault or not; for if he should do otherwise we could not say, as we have said, that China is prudently governed.

The viceroy also writes to me that, since the Spaniards are a sensible and prudent people, we must therefore be grieved for having slain so many people, and repent thereof. He also informs me that if we deal justly with the Chinese return the Sangleys who have survived the war, and pay the money due on the goods taken from the Sangleys, he will maintain amity with us and will send merchant vessels every year. If not, the king will not permit ships to come, but will command a thousand war-vessels to be built, manned with soldiers--both the relatives of those who are dead, and men from the other nations and kingdoms who pay tribute to China; and, without mercy on anyone, they will make war upon us, and afterward the kingdom of Luzón will be given to that people which pays tribute.

To this I answer that, although in truth we are grieved for the loss which the Chinese suffered, we have nothing to repent of therein; since what we did was to put to death those who would have done the same to us (although we had given them no reason for it), and who would have done so if we had not anticipated them. When we were living in great peace they rose in revolt against us, simply because they were wicked; left their Parián for a fort which they had built without my knowing anything of it, and sallied out thence against the farms to kill Spaniards and Indians. This they succeeded in doing by catching them unawares, and they inflicted very great cruelties even upon the Spanish women and upon their slaves, both male and female. Since this is true, as the very Chinese who have survived will declare, let the viceroy judge what could have been done, and what he would have done if such a thing had happened in China.

The crime is such that all of them justly deserve to die for it; but, moved with pity, I permitted some few to serve in the galleys of the king, which is a punishment inflicted by us upon criminals to avoid putting them to death. After they had been placed in the galleys, I get free some of them who, as it afterward appeared, had not been so much in fault; and others furnished some slaves, who received the same treatment. It is well known that kingdoms and provinces where crimes are not punished cannot maintain themselves; and if this crime were not punished, and the Chinese were to see that they received their liberty even when they had committed so great a crime, another day they would do the same thing. Hence I have not yet set at liberty those Sangleys who are condemned to the galleys, that they may go to China and even convey to the viceroy knowledge of what has happened. I am certain that when he knows the facts he will regard their punishment as very slight in view of their crimes; but, if he should deem otherwise, let him inform me of his will.

The property which was in existence during the past year, for whom owners or consignees appeared, was surrendered to them; there was a great quantity of it, and now they take [_blank space in MS_.]. This is the amount which I have been able to send from the royal treasury, where some of the property of the Sangleys was deposited for which an owner was not to be found; next year I will endeavor to send the rest. During the past year one ship arrived; and the other, which was on its way to Castilla, was lost with a very great quantity of Chinese stuffs and other goods. For this reason it has been impossible to discharge this obligation in full at the present time. Let the viceroy notice that this is and will be done because it is just, and not because he has written that unless the people and the goods are sent he will make war on Luzón; for I am sure that the king of China and his ministers, being prudent, politic, and discreet persons, will not wage war for causes so light. Still, if they desire to do so, the Castilians are well able to defend their lands from all who may attempt to take them away; and they even know how to attack their enemies and to seek them out in their own dwelling-places, when their opponents suppose that they have them conquered.

As regards the licenses for ships coming from China to trade with Luzón, it is not so dangerous to grant such permissions that the king [of China] or other persons there will consent to lose the great advantage which they possess in the large quantity of silver which is carried hence every year; for this remains in China, without a single real leaving there, while the goods which they give us in exchange are consumed and used up in a very short time. Hence we may say that in this trade the Chinese have as great an interest as the Castilians have, or even more.

Chinese Immigration Restricted

Sire:

By commission from the royal Audiencia, I have this year attended to the investigation of the Chinese ships, and the Sangleys who have come to this city. I myself went to examine them, in order to avert the injuries which might be inflicted on them. Eighteen ships having arrived, with merchandise and five thousand five hundred Chinese on board, besides five hundred more who remained in this city from last year, I ordered the cabildo and regimiento of the city, if Chinese were necessary for the public service, to enter petition therefor within four days, giving a memorandum of the number necessary and the duties that they were to perform. As they did not do as I had ordered, for a number of days, and as the ships wished to return to China, and I to despatch in them all the infidel Chinese who were here, I reported the case to the royal Audiencia here. Considering what great lack of service there is in this city, and how necessary workmen are for its restoration, as it has been ravaged by two fires--more than a hundred of the houses formerly standing having been destroyed during this year of six hundred and five, and more by the other fire that occurred in the year six hundred and three--they determined to have one thousand five hundred infidel Chinese stay here for the rebuilding of the burned part, and the service of the city. They commanded me by an act to give permission to the said number of infidel Chinese, choosing them from the crafts which should appear to me most necessary. This I did with exactness and fairness, being personally present, and not entrusting this task to any other person. In this way, the said number will not be in any way exceeded; it has appeared necessary and sufficient, and it will be important for the service of God and of your Majesty that this number be not exceeded in years to come. May God protect the Catholic person of your Majesty. Manila, July 5, 1605.

The licentiate _Manuel de Madrid y Luna_

[_Endorsed_: "To his Majesty; Manila, 1605: The licentiate Manuel de Madrid y Luna. July 5." "That, by commission of the Audiencia, the inspection of the ships of the Chinese Sangleys has been attended to; and by order of the said Audiencia, considering the great necessity of labor and repairs, permission was given for a thousand and five hundred of them to remain in that city, as they are very necessary. And in compliance with this they will be allowed to stay for this purpose, without the said number being exceeded. March 22, 1607. This measure is in the letters of the governor."]

Letters from Pedro de Acuña to Felipe III

Sire: