Chapter 21

_Item_: That the royal Audiencia shall not try the suits of the Indians in the first instance; for all the cases are brought before the Audiencia, and the Indians spend all their substance with lawyers and attorneys, and even go into debt, for they are fond of litigation. And since suits conducted by audiencias last so long, the Indians spend all their substance, which means the ruin of the country. Since your Highness has ordered that such suits be tried summarily and orally, will your Highness be pleased to order that that decree be observed; and that the alcaldes-mayor and justices try in the first instance, and in the second in a case fully proven, so that the Audiencia may give sentence therein, and despatch the suits quickly.

_Item_: That, although your Highness has ordered that the Indians be not fined pecuniarily, your order is disregarded, especially by certain officials of the doctrinas [_i.e._, missions]. There is considerable abuse in this matter that deserves remedy. In some districts, also, very large fees are collected. Will your Highness be pleased to order this remedied, I mean the taking in some districts of these fees by officials of the doctrinas. [96]

_Item_: The governors have appointed captains, masters-of-camp, and all sorts of military officers among the natives. They allow them to have company colors, and finally are teaching them how to fight after our manner. That means, even if we should need the Indians, naught else than to awaken one who sleeps, until what he has practiced becomes his purpose.

_Item_: The Portuguese of Malaca carry to the islands many slaves--negroes, for the most part. Those are generally the worst ones that they have, and they are drunkards, thieves, and fugitives, who take to highway robbery; and they endanger the country considerably, because of their number. Will your Highness be pleased to order that no one of the said negroes or slaves be carried thither, when twelve years old or over, under penalty of confiscation; and that that order be rigorously executed.

_Item_: That when the governor or auditors leave their offices they give their residencias in person; for this is of great importance, so that they may have fear in giving the residencia. [97] It it also advisable that public suits, both civil and criminal, be prosecuted and concluded in course of appeal and petition in the royal Chancillería of Manila; for it disheartens all to have to come so many thousands of leguas, or to send with so great expense and hardship. Consequently their grievances continue; and many, although they seek redress, have not the means to obtain it. The said governors, inasmuch as they represent your Highness, should treat the citizens with respect, and not use abusive language to them, nor insult and affront them--as they have often done, so that certain men have all but died of grief. The governors have even exposed the citizens to great danger, by not treating them well by word of mouth. Will your Highness please order the said governors to be very restrained; and, should any merit it, that he be punished as your Highness has ordered by your laws.

_Item_: Because of the increase of business in the city of Manila, and the number of inhabitants, it is necessary for the proper despatch of business to have one or two more notaries-public.

In regard to the prompt despatch and equipment necessary for your Highness's two vessels that sail on that line with the trade and merchandise of that kingdom for Nueva España (which involves the most important affairs of that kingdom), the reform and careful management required by that despatch are very necessary and worthy of great consideration; for during the last ten years they have managed that just as they pleased, most often despatching the ships beyond the time when they were formerly despatched, and often poorly equipped and overladen. Consequently many vessels were wrecked with a great amount of property, in which your Highness has also lost much. And the citizens of Manila, when they might be very prosperous and wealthy, are, thanks to him who has despatched the vessels, very needy and poor--so much so, that they could not collect a gratuity to give me. Since it is a matter of so great importance, if your Highness be pleased to order the observance of the plan that I shall set forth in these articles, as a person who has so great experience in it, and which has been for some time in my charge, the necessary remedy will be applied in the following manner.

First, that the ships be despatched by the middle of June, and that this be an inviolable law; that a fine of six thousand pesos be imposed on the governor, to which your Highness shall immediately condemn him if he do not despatch them then. The reason why this is so necessary is because the vendavals generally set in at some time in the month of June; and if they catch the ship in the port, it cannot sail until that first monsoon passes. That usually lasts fifteen or twenty days, or one month. If they are caught outside during this weather, they can sail until they reach the district and altitude where they find the usual winds, with which they can make their said voyage easily. Consequently, they will pass Japon, which is the point where all the difficulties of the said voyage lie, with good weather. If the said monsoon ceases, and the ships are caught inside the bay, as a general thing another wind, the brisa, begins to blow, so that they are detained. Consequently, when they make the said voyage, and reach the neighborhood of Japon, it is already September or October. Accordingly it is necessary to run great risks, and they must suffer many storms, with which the ships lose their rigging, are wrecked, or have to put into port in distress. If they proceed on their course, inasmuch as they encounter the rigor of winter, and because of their high altitude and their departure from a warm land, many men die; their gums decay and their teeth fall out. [98] If so great severity is not exercised, this matter will not be remedied.

_Item_: The ships sail very unevenly, and heavily laden, so that one-half the ship's stores are left above decks; and as the sailors are unable to attend to necessary duties or to move about in the ships, in the first storm the stores are all carried into the sea; and the men left without necessary food, especially live fowls, which means their very life. On account of their heavy cargoes they are unable to set all sail or to resist squalls, so that they founder, put into port in distress, are wrecked, or are long delayed on the voyage.

Again they often sail poorly repaired, because of the fault of the shore-master [_patron de ribera_] who has charge of them. It is necessary to remove him from that post; but, although the city has tried to do so, it has been unable to secure redress. Thus, it is said, the ship "San Antonio," which was wrecked in the year six hundred and four, carried rotten timbers throughout; and in it were drowned over three hundred persons. That said year of six hundred and four, General Don Diego de Mendoça made port in distress, and gave the information of which I present a copy here; he said that he was carrying rotten masts. Inasmuch as this matter is very long, it will not be discussed here; for, as I am a priest, it is not advisable for me to do so. In order that the neglect that there has been in this matter may be seen, never have the governors or royal officials investigated who has been the cause, or why the ships have put back in distress or have been wrecked; for that would mean to make a report against themselves. More than four of them would have been punished rigorously had they made reports, and had your Highness known the culprits.

_Item_: Inasmuch as the said ships sail so unevenly laden, the seamen do not have protection from water and cold. Consequently, they fall sick, and it has even occurred that they die and are frozen, which is great inhumanity. It is very pitiful to see what occurs in that navigation.

_Item_: The fireplaces in which the food is cooked are left above deck, open to water and air, where the first storm carries them off. It becomes necessary after that to make a fire in earthen jars in various parts of the ship, at a very great risk of all perishing and the ship burning--besides the fact that if it rains they cannot cook their food. For all this it is necessary for your Highness to order that the ships of the said line that shall be built shall carry the fireplaces under the forecastle, and as is the custom in this line of the Yndias; and that the storerooms of the officers of the ship do not occupy that space. The officers sell the storerooms to the passengers for considerable money, and stow goods in them, which is not among the least of all the troubles.

_Item_: That the freight and cargo that the said ships must contain be stowed in the first hold, and that between decks shall be only the ship's stores, the chests of the sailors, the messrooms, rigging, sails, and all necessary supplies. They should carry even rigging for the port of Acapulco, since there is rigging at Manila which is very cheap; and then your Highness will not have to spend vast sums in taking it from San Juan de Lua to Acapulco overland, which is one hundred and fifty leguas.

_Item_: That all the passengers who shall come from Filipinas to Nueva España in the said ships should pay a fare of two hundred pesos if they have a berth or messroom under deck, and those who do not so have berth or messroom, one hundred pesos, as an aid in the expenses of the ships. This should be understood not on the outward trip [to the islands] but on the return trip. [99]

_Item_: That the sailors be not allowed to take aboard more than one chest of goods, of the size assigned by the governor; for there is the utmost confusion in this regard, and the sailors are allowed to carry two or three very large chests, larger than common. They overload and embarrass the ship; and, under pretext that they are carrying their clothes, they take those chests full of merchandise.

_Item_: That all the passengers shall carry swords and bucklers and arquebuses; and that the royal officials shall place on ship arquebuses, muskets, and lances for the sailors. Those weapons are cheap in Manila; and with them, and the artillery carried by the ships, the latter will be well defended. They need no soldiers for the return trip [to Nueva España], for rather the ships then carry too many people.

_Item_: No passengers or sailors shall carry with them slave women, a practice which gives rise to very great offenses against God. Such shall be regarded as confiscated in the port of Acapulco. This is very advisable, for many persons carry these women as concubines--not only the owners of them, but others in the ships. It is not right that there be any occasion for angering God when there is so great risk in the voyage, as I dare to affirm; and it is certain that, in the last ten years, while this has been so prevalent, many disasters have happened.

_Item_: That there has been great disorder in regard to lading the ships because it has been entrusted at times to very greedy persons, who, having but slight fear of God, sell the toneladas to, and lade for, whomsoever they wish. Thence it generally results that the goods of the poorest and most needy are left ashore, after the poor have invested their capital; and, after they have paid the duties to your Highness, they are left ruined. Consequently, the ships sail laden more with the curses of the poor than with merchandise. That is the greatest pity, and this evil is worthy of reform. Never has that been punished. The reform that can be established is, that the overseers who shall be appointed to assist in the said lading, be appointed by open cabildo; and should such persons refuse the post, they shall be compelled to accept it. If they are chosen in this manner, a mistake cannot be made in the election, since all are known. The governor shall confirm the choice, and he will thus be exempted from trouble and will be freed by this from the complaints that he generally incurs, because the blame is always laid on him. Certainly it belongs to him, since, he does not appoint those that he should, but whomever he wishes to advantage, who are at times his own servants.

_Item_: That the said ships are very ill provided with the ship-stores necessary for the sailors; and on that account the poor sailors spend their wages in buying provisions for the voyage. That is a great abuse, and for that reason the ships are also overladen. Likewise they should carry some fowls for those who fall sick, especially the Indian common seamen, who are treated like dogs. The Spanish sailors are more accustomed to provide such things for themselves. Inasmuch as that voyage is so long, and no fresh provisions can be obtained on the way, very many fall sick. For a remedy to that, God has placed, midway in the sea and on the voyage, an island that serves as an inn in the middle of their way, just as the Portuguese in their voyage have one at the island of Santa Elena, where they get fresh food. That island, which I call Rica de Plata, is large, and over one hundred leguas in circumference. Although some ships sight it in passing, inasmuch as its ports are unknown, no one dares to get fresh food there. It is thought to be inhabited, for some signs of habitation have been seen. It is very necessary that a small vessel sail from Manila to explore it, and that it look there for a good port, so that the ships can get water and wood, and reprovision. The exploration of it may be of the highest importance. It is necessary also because near that region the ships generally lose their rigging in storms, and they can be refitted and repaired there, and can continue their voyage without having to put back to Manila. I advised your Highness of that some years ago, as it is so important for that voyage I believe that a decree was sent to the governor in a former year [100] to explore it; but that must be ordered again. A man of experience should be sent, so that he may display the prudence and make the exploration requisite, in accordance with the art and science of hydrography; and likewise so that he may live in Manila and examine the pilots of that line, and make faithful and accurate sea-charts. For that purpose I shall give him considerable enlightenment by giving him the documents on the demarcations, and the information that I possess, on which I have labored much in order to serve your Highness. Nowhere does your Highness need a cosmographer so much as in that land, for many things that arise and may arise.

_Item_: A plan occurs to me whereby the ships that have to sail in that line may cost your Highness less than half, and a vessel last twice as long, compared with those that are built in Filipinas. Likewise the Indian natives would be saved many hardships and annoyances in the cutting of timber, which they have to do for the building of the ships. This consists in the governor going from Manila to Vengala and Cuchin in India to buy the ships; for they sell them there made from an incorruptible wood together with a quantity of extra rigging made of _cayro_, [101] which is better than that of hemp. With the rigging alone that can be imported from there, the cost of the ship can be saved. Thence Lascar sailors can be brought, who are cheaper and are very good seamen. All the Portuguese of those parts use them in navigating, and they are very needful in the Filipinas. They will come very willingly and will save your Highness a considerable sum. For that it is necessary to send orders to your viceroy of Goa, and to the chief commandant of Malaca, to protect the Lascars who shall go thither, and not to harm them.

_Item_: Your Highness granted a concession to the city of Manila of a decree ordering your governor Don Pedro de Acuña to assign to the cabildo of the said city seats in the cathedral, as was befitting the chief municipal body of that kingdom. As yet these have not been assigned, because the wives of the auditors sit inside the principal chapel, where the said cabildo generally sat--that is, opposite the seats of the auditors and governor.

I petition your Highness to have the said seats assigned, and to order the wives of the said auditors to sit elsewhere, since in none of the Yndias do the latter sit in the principal chapel, thus depriving the said cabildo of their seats.

_Item_: The royal magazines have very few muskets and arquebuses for the defense of that kingdom. I petition your Highness to be pleased to have a quantity of arms sent, and also to order that they be distributed among the citizens; and that the latter pay those who give them those muskets and arquebuses the price that your Highness shall have paid for them there, and the costs [of transportation].

_Item_: The province of Nueva Segovia, the most northern province of the island of Manila, which is very near China, is a very good and fertile land. It is becoming entirely pacified and quieted. There the Order of St. Dominic is in charge, and they are gathering much fruit. It is the best land in the islands and the most fertile. There, inasmuch as the climate is temperate, the products of this country can be produced, such as wheat, fruits, and other food. It lies in an excellent region, and has there a Spanish city, called Nueva Segovia, which gives name to the said province. It has but few inhabitants now, because the encomenderos of that district go to Manila and desert it. Will your Highness be pleased to order the said encomenderos to live in the said city, and your governor to make efforts to settle it, especially with people who will cultivate and sow the land, so that that district may retain its excellence. For that purpose it is very needful that the said governor appoint an alcalde-mayor for that district, who shall be a lieutenant-governor, and who shall keep his office for three-years; for [the usual] appointments as alcalde are for but one year, and one can learn to know the country but little in so short a time. It is necessary that the judge that shall go there (and so that an influential and satisfactory man might be able to go there) be given a good salary; and that that province and that of Ylocos, which lies next to Nueva Segovia, be subject to him. That is very necessary for the welfare of those two provinces, which are very far from Manila.

_Item_: Will your Highness be pleased to give me a good master shipbuilder, or authority to look for one, and another intelligent person as shore-master, to assist in the despatch and repairs of ships. He should be a Spaniard and not a foreigner, like the one there now; for in former times, when Doctor Antonio de Morga, your auditor, sailed out against a Dutchman who went to those islands, while two ships were being prepared to attack the Dutch, two holes were bored in one of them one night, and it began to sink, and the sails were taken out and hid in the woods. It was not discovered who did it, nor was any investigation even made. But one may readily presume that some enemy to us did it; and indeed we can not settle our suspicions on anyone. In order to investigate these and many other actions worthy of punishment or correction which have occurred there in these matters, and in others--for instance, that in other parts of those islands they gave that same Dutchman food, and there was some person who communicated with him; while it is even said that they showed him how to get out of a harbor that he had entered, and from which we considered it impossible for him to sail--and finally there are many things to correct and reform, and burdens to be removed from the Indian natives: for all these it is necessary for your Highness to appoint a person there to make official visits through the country. It is as necessary as the inspection itself that such shore-master be a disinterested person and a resident of that country; for if he is after money, he will do no good. Hence, if your Highness be pleased to appoint such an one, there are ecclesiastical persons in the Filipinas, as for instance the bishops, especially he of Çibu, Fray Pedro de Agurto, who is a saintly man; an ecclesiastic, the archdeacon of Manila, called Licentiate Don Francisco Gomez de Arellano, a most zealous servant of God, and a father of that community--one who seeks no money, but rather gives all his income in alms; also a Dominican friar, the commissary of the Holy Office, who is an excellent man; and another friar of the Order of St. Francis, called Fray Juan Baptista. These men, besides having experience in the country, and knowing what demands reform, are men disinterested and wholly competent and capable. Entire faith can be given to any one of them, with assurance. If the visitor be not one of the inhabitants there, it is inadvisable to send him, nor is it my intent to ask for him.

_Item_: For some years past, some Indians living near by, and our enemies, of the islands of Mindanao, Jolo, Burney, and other neighboring islands, have become emboldened and have gone beyond bounds. They are Mahometans, and have ruined those Filipinas Islands--pillaging and capturing the natives, burning the churches and images, and cutting the images with knives and destroying them, to the great injury of our holy Catholic faith. This has reached so shameless and bold a pass that no one--not only natives but Spaniards--dares to go among the said islands. Those enemies have rendered the said natives very liable to revolt, by coming daily to plunder them, and to carry off their possessions, and their wives and children captive; and in fact they have revolted several times, and taken to the mountains, saying that since the Spaniards do not provide for their defense, they will not pay tribute. Some, who are more loyal, say that, if they are allowed to carry arms as before, they will defend their country. After examining the cause of these troubles with great care, the following considerations have presented themselves.

First, that, according to the command of one of your Highness's royal decrees, such men [_i.e.,_ the Moros] cannot be slaves. As they are a race from whom the soldiers can get no other booty, because the Moros do not possess it, they fight unwillingly. If the soldiers could make captives of them, they would become very eager, and that would be a great incentive for the soldiers to destroy them. There is less incentive for them to capture those people than to kill them, as they do now. Again it would be very useful to the said islands, for the natives would also be encouraged to go to war because of their eagerness to possess slaves to cultivate their fields. Therefore, will your Highness be pleased to order that those people be made slaves, since their enslavement is so justifiable and of so great service to God; or that this matter be committed to the royal Audiencia and archbishop and bishops to determine, inasmuch as they have the matter in hand.