Chapter 2

A third letter relates to general affairs of government, in which he reports that peace and harmony exist among the various departments. The bridge across the river Pasig is being constructed. The Parián at Manila was destroyed by fire in January, but has been rebuilt in better style; and other destructive fires are mentioned. The rice crop has been abundant, and agriculture is improving. In conjunction with the other royal officials, Tavora has allowed the citizens to send goods this year to Mexico without the usual restrictions, on account of the impoverished condition of the islands. He finds the Indians much harassed by the exactions made upon them for the public service, and, with the consent of all interested--the royal officials, the encomenderos, and the ecclesiastics--prepares new instructions and ordinances, which are designed to relieve the natives from all oppression, and provide fair wages for their labor on public works. The royal officials are endeavoring to secure more satisfactory methods of government for the Chinese who are in the islands, both residents and transients. Tavora asks for a printed copy of all the royal decrees that apply to his government. He has done all in his power to aid the seminary for orphan boys at Manila, but it needs more; and he asks the king to grant an encomienda in support of this charity. He is doing what he can for the hospitals, but asks that brethren from a hospital order be sent to manage them. The ships from Mexico were sent late this year, and were almost lost through storms; Tavora urges that this be not allowed to occur, as the very existence of the Philippine colony is thus imperiled.

A document dated October 7, 1628, presents (apparently to the Council of the Indias) various arguments for suppressing the silk trade of China in Spain and its colonies. The old complaint is reiterated, that the silver coin of Nueva España is being drained away into China; besides, this trade deprives Spain of all this money, and the customs duties are greatly decreased from what they might amount to. Large quantities of contraband goods are, moreover, carried to the South American colonies, thus injuring the exports from the mother country. The Chinese wares are apparently cheap, but their poor quality, and their depreciating effect on the values of Spanish goods, diminish the real profits of the Chinese trade. The necessity of protecting the silk industry in the kingdom of Granada is used as a strong argument against allowing the Chinese silk trade in the Spanish colonies, as the former adds greatly to the revenues of the crown. If Chinese silks were prohibited, those of Granada (the sale of which is much diminished) would be in much greater demand; and the producers there could meet their obligations, while the royal revenues would increase accordingly.

Some decrees are issued by Felipe IV for the protection of the Chinese. One (dated June 8, 1628) orders the governor of the Philippines to protect them from extortion and oppression in the matter of tributes and that of permissions granted them to travel in the islands; another (August 17) refers to him the demand that all Chinese except the married Christians be strictly confined within the Parián. On March 7, 1629, the king orders him to ascertain whether the Chinese need a protector; and, if so, to send him a list of persons from whom such official may be chosen by the Council of the Indias.

The Jesuit annals are continued for 1628-29; there are two relations for this year, one of which consists of letters from various fathers of the Society, merely strung together. Hernando Estrada relates the success of a Spanish fleet from Oton in punishing the Joloan pirates. Pedro de Prado writes of the raids made by the Camuzones, other pirates, and the dangers encountered by the missionaries; and describes the animals and products of the country. Another letter (unsigned) states that the Dutch have been driven out of their establishments in Eastern India.

A second general relation (but unsigned) for the same year contains mention of various events both ecclesiastical and secular. On the night of November 25 the Jesuit church falls in ruins, for the third time; it is being rebuilt. The monstrance and host kept in the cathedral are stolen by sacrilegious hands, (an occurrence which causes the death of Archbishop Serrano). An image of the Virgin Mary is seen to weep, as if lamenting the ravages made by pirates in the Pintados. In these raids several of the Jesuit missionaries have narrowly escaped death. The Dutch in Java have been attacked by the natives, and are menaced by the Portuguese there and elsewhere. The Spaniards go to Camboja for lumber, and Dominican missionaries go with them to labor among the heathen. Affairs with Siam are not yet restored to a peaceful condition. The missions in Cochinchina and Tonkin are doing well. The Chinese, at war with the Tartars, borrow aid from the Portuguese at Macao. In Japan the Christians are being exterminated by torture and death. There was talk of expelling the Dutch from that country; but news arrives there of the destruction of a Japanese ship off Siam by the Spaniards, and the Japanese begin to talk of uniting with the Dutch to attack the Spaniards in Formosa and even Manila. "The Philipinas Islands are at present in a ruinous condition." A postscript to this relation describes an encounter between a small Spanish ship from India and a large English ship, at Fayal, in which the former saves itself, after inflicting much damage on its opponent.

The Editors

October, 1904.

DOCUMENTS OF 1625

Report of the Spanish Council of State on the appointment of a governor for the Philippines. March 7. Royal decree granting income to the Society of Jesus. Felipe IV; June 1. Letter from the archbishop of Manila to Felipe IV. Miguel Garcia Serrano; July 25. Royal festivities at Manila. Diego de Rueda y Mendosa; August 1. Letter to Felipe IV. Fernando de Silva; August 4.

_Sources_: The first, third, and fifth of these documents are from MSS. in the Archive general de Indias, Sevilla; the second, from Pastells's edition of Colin's _Labor evangélica_, iii, pp. 754-755; the fourth, from a pamphlet, _Toros y cañas_ (Barcelona, 1903).

_Translations_: These are all made by James A. Robertson.

REPORT OF THE SPANISH COUNCIL OF STATE ON APPOINTMENT OF A GOVERNOR FOR THE PHILIPPINES

Sire:

On the occasion of a letter written to your Majesty by Don Alonso Fajardo de Tenzá, governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of the royal Audiencia established therein, on the seventeenth of August of the past year 623, petitioning among other things for permission to come to España, the Council advised your Majesty of what occurred to them with regard to the appointment to that office. Your Majesty was pleased to order that persons be proposed for it, and that a relation be made, in the report of the Council, of the pretensions of Don Alonso; and that action be immediate, so that he whom your Majesty should appoint might sail in the trading-fleet bound for Nueva España--or, if he should be in the Yndias, that he might be advised so that he could sail in March of the coming year for Filipinas. [Your Majesty also ordered] that Don Alonso's pay should run until his departure thence in the first vessel, and one year longer, in order that he might come here. In fulfilment of your Majesty's orders, it appears that the demands of Don Alonso Fajardo are reduced to a better office in reward for his services and those of his father and forbears; and that your Majesty, by providing what you deem best, make good his pay during all the time while he should be detained there without power to embark, and one year longer, to enable him to come to these kingdoms, offering his person to serve in this interim at the order of his successor. Don Juan Fajardo, his brother, wrote to me, the president, in a letter of November 4 of the past year that, since Don Alonso desires leave to go to España, it must be after there has been time to conclude the inspection that was ordered to be made of him and the Audiencia, and after your Majesty has assigned him a post in the Council of War with an adequate salary. In accordance with the charges against him, Don Juan petitions that the permission be revoked until he himself shall return from the expedition of Brazil and come to this court. Will your Majesty show him the favor that may be your pleasure.

The Council having examined personally the services and merits that follow for this office (which carries a salary of eight thousand pesos de minas, of four hundred and fifty maravedis apiece), those who are considered most fitting to receive that office--which must be held for eight years, in accordance with the order given regarding it--are proposed to your Majesty. The first two have seven votes.

Don Geronimo Agustin, of the habit of Calatrava, who has served from the year 88. In that of 89, the duke of Terra Nova, while governor of Milan, assigned him a Spanish infantry company of arquebusiers in the regiment of Lombardia. The same year he went to Flandes, where, at different periods, he served for ten years with appointments and infantry companies; and the last three years as captain and sargento-mayor of the regiments of the masters-of-camp, Don Yñigo de Borja, Don Alvaro Huaser, Don Fernando Giron, and Don Alonso de Leyla. He commanded some of the regiments; and for special services that he performed, the king our sovereign (may he rest in peace), your Majesty's father, granted him four hundred reals [1] income in Milan. In the year 60-[?] he was appointed master-of-camp of a regiment of men in the fleet of the Ocean Sea, in which he has served. Embarking with his regiment, he went to the Terceras to relieve three ships of Yndia which had arrived there in a dilapidated condition; and afterward went with the marquis of Santa Cruz to the undertaking of Alarache. Thence he went to the Mediterranean Sea until he sighted Tunez [_i.e._, Tunis], in whose bay were burned twenty-two pirate ships and one galliot. [2] On his return from the expedition, he took part in the expulsion of the Moriscos [3] from Valencia, Aragon, and Murcia. Finally, he went with his regiment to La Mamora, and was in full command of all the companies in which served the seigniors and cities of Andalucia and three hundred soldiers of the coast of Granada. Through his determination, the men whom he headed were landed; and they gained and occupied those positions, responding with great courage to their defense and to the fortifications. In consideration of that, he was in the former year of 617 considered for the offices of governor and captain-general of the province of Panama and those of Chile, and as president of the royal Audiencia of those provinces. On account of your Majesty's assurance in his person and services, you granted him the office of viceroy of Mallorca, which he holds at present.

Don Gaspar Ruiz de Pereda, of the habit of San Tiago, has served for more than thirty-six years in the Terceras, in the expedition to Ynglaterra, in the States of Flandes, and in the fleet of the Ocean Sea, where considerable pay and appointments were granted him. Afterward he served in Bretaña; and the Council of State entrusted to him matters touching the right of the infanta to that state. [4] He was corregidor and war-captain of the four towns of the seacoast. He attended to the preparation and building of ships and the despatch of fleets satisfactorily. At the conclusion of his office, he returned to that coast, and became superintendent of it all from La Raya of Portugal to Francia. The king our sovereign (may he rest in peace) granted him the government of Habana, which he exercised for nine years. In the residencia taken from him he was regarded as free from blame; and, on his arrival at these kingdoms, was appointed corregidor of Malaga. Later, on account of the satisfaction given by his person, your Majesty appointed him inspector-general in the States of Flandes.

The following three have five votes apiece.

Don Juan Nino de Tavora, who, having been gentleman of the bed chamber to the archduke Alberto, and cavalry captain in the States of Flandes, is at present master-of-camp of Spanish infantry there. With his services and capacity there is entire satisfaction. He is the son of Don Gabriel Nino, formerly chief master-of-camp of the king our sovereign who is in glory.

General Don Juan de Venavides, of the habit of San Tiago, is the son of the marquis of Jaralquinto. He has been in the service for the past twenty-two years, seven of them with additional pay under the marquis of Santa Cruz in the galleys of the kingdom of Portugal, and thirteen years with the pay of thirty reals [_sc._ ducados?] per month in the trade-route to the Yndias. He made five voyages, in that of 610 going as captain of one of the infantry companies of the trading-fleet of Tierra Firme. That same year, the flagship of the galleons having been lost at the departure from Buen Aire, he, having escaped naked, stayed to rescue the men of the ship; and having done this, took them in a patache to Cartagena. In the year 613 he went as admiral of the trading-fleet of Nueva España. On the return trip some ships of the fleet were lost in a storm. He was carrying in his ship more than one million [pesos] of silver belonging to your Majesty and to private persons. The masts and the rudder were snapped in twain; the ship began to leak at the bow; and yet he repaired it and anchored in the port of San Lucar without having thrown anything overboard. In 615 he again filled the same office of admiral, and, the flagship from Honduras having been wrecked, he saved many of its crew. In 617 he was recommended as commander of the trading-fleet of Nueva España, and was granted the office of its admiral. Finally, he was twice proposed as commander of the Filipinas fleet. On January 13, 620, he was appointed commander of the trading-fleet of Nueva España, from which post he came with good reputation and fame. Licentiate Pedro de Vergara Gaviria, in a letter that he wrote to your Majesty from Vera Cruz, where he was inspecting the royal officials, declares that he has seen in his person an excellent zeal and a manner of procedure quite different from what is said there of other commanders, and accordingly he is obliged to give account of it; and that the honors and rewards that your Majesty would be pleased to bestow on him will be well employed. In the year 623, he was for the second time granted the office of commander of the said trading-fleet of Nueba España (whence he had come the year before); he took the fleet and brought it in safety. While at the port of Vera Cruz, the Mexican Audiencia committed to him, on the occasion of the rebellion of that city, the fort of San Juan de Ulua, and appointed him as its commandant, and as military captain of all that coast. He served in that capacity until he returned to España, desiring to obtain the quiet and peace of that kingdom. In the residencias that have been taken of the appointments as commander that he has held, he has been declared a good official, and worthy of greater honors and emoluments. This present year he was proposed for the office of commander of the trading-fleet of Nueba España.

The master-of-camp, Don Francisco Zapata Ossorio, knight of the habit of Santiago, has served for twenty-two years, sixteen in Flandes, at fifty reals [_sc._ ducados?] pay. He was later captain of a Spanish infantry company, with which he took part as occasion offered. He, went to Napoles and was there governor and military captain of the province of Calabria. In the residencia taken of that office, he was exonerated. He commanded the galley of the Napoles squadron at the appointment of Cardinal Çapata, in the absence of the regularly-appointed commander, with pay of one hundred and fifty reals [_sc._ ducados?] per month. In the year of 622 the said cardinal appointed him master-of-camp of the seven companies of Spanish infantry that went to the state of Milan, and captain of one of them, namely, the one that belongs to him as master-of-camp. He came with the permission of the duke of Alva, who wrote to your Majesty recommending him and mentions the said Don Francisco. Your Majesty has ordered him to go to visit the duke of Lorena; also that, going to Flandes, he be given there the first regiment that falls vacant, and that in the meanwhile he enjoy the salary of master-of-camp of halberdiers--namely, one hundred and sixteen ducados per month. His father served more than fifty years, and was in the battle of Lepanto, in the States of Flandes, the war with Portugal, the Terceras Islands, and the expedition to Ynglaterra; he served twice in the inspection of many men in the department of Sevylla, and served in the government of Alcantara, and as corregidor of Joro, and lastly in that of Cordoba. His uncle, Don Juan Çapata Ossorio, was bishop of Çamora; and his other ancestors, paternal and maternal, died in the service.

Don Garcia Giron has four votes. He has served since the expedition to Ynglaterra. He was lieutenant of the cavalry captain, Don Fernando Giron, his brother, in Lengua-doc [_i.e._, Languedoc], whence he went to Bretaña as arquebusier captain. He took part in all the sieges and in all the reënforcements that occurred during his time, many times having in charge convoys. When the said his brother took two thousand infantrymen for the fleet, he served on it. The adelantado-mayor of Castilla gave him command of a galleon, and later the command of twenty companies when coming from Vigo. When some thirty companies went to Ytalia with the count of Fuentes, he took charge of them by order of the duke of Medina-Sidonia. On those occasions and in Flandes, while serving as captain and sargento-mayor, he gave an excellent account of his person and served with satisfaction to his superiors. In the year of 610, his Majesty who is in glory bestowed upon him the government of Cartagena, I mean of Benezuela. At the expiration of the time for which he was appointed, he was granted the government of Cartagena, and now he has been given that of Habana.

The following seven have each one vote.

Don Antonio Sarmiento, son of Count Gondomar. After having served on various occasions, your Majesty bestowed upon him a post in the Council of the Treasury, in which he serves with approval.

Don Sancho de Zeyba, of whose capacity and of the services of his forbears and his own, your Majesty has full notice.

General Don Geronimo Gomez de Sandoval, of the habit of Santiago, captain of a company of men-of-arms in the guards of Castilla, who has served for twenty-three years past on various occasions. In 602, the city of Cartagena appointed him to raise one hundred and fifty infantrymen who were embarked in the galleys of España. He went on the expedition of Argel with appointment as Spanish infantry captain. In the year of 604, his Majesty who is in heaven granted him twenty-five ducados pay, which was later increased to thirty. His father being appointed governor and captain-general of Ysla Española [_i.e._, Hayti], and president of that Audiencia, Don Geronimo went with him, having been appointed commandant of the fort of Santo Domingo. At the order of the Audiencia, he took command of the ships of the fleet there for its defense for more than four years. As commander of them, he sailed out at various times to clear that entire coast of enemies, engaging them with great valor. Once he captured two lanchas, and on another occasion a ship, while he sank another. His services were held as very considerable at that time. Having come to this coast to request the office of commander of some fleet, he was granted the post of admiral of that of Nueba España, which came in 621. On that voyage, he helped the ships that were unmasted and unrigged, both going and coming. By his great diligence he helped to withdraw one that was burning in the port of San Juan de Ulua from among all the fleet, by which act the greater part of the fleet escaped the fire. It was a great peril, for all the silver and merchandise was embarked for the voyage. In respect to that service, the prior and consuls, as those interested in it, petitioned, in a letter to your Majesty, that you be pleased to give him the place of commander of the fleet in the following year. Having consulted in regard to it, your Majesty was pleased to grant him that of admiral for the good account that he had given of the offices which he had had in charge. Your Majesty will have an account of his person. On this voyage he served with especial approval as an excellent and careful mariner, and is fitted for employment in any command of importance of this kind. Accordingly, he was proposed for the place of captain-general of the trading-fleet that is to go to Nueba España this year, which your Majesty bestowed upon Don Lope de Hou y Cordova; and now your Majesty has bestowed upon him that of Tierra Firme. He is the son, as above stated, of Don Diego Gomez de Sandoval (whose capacity is very well known), who, having served more than forty years in various offices, died in the past year of 623, as governor and captain-general of Ysla Española, where he was for five years. The Audiencia, the archbishop, and the secular cabildo of Santo Domingo wrote in a letter to your Majesty how well he served in governmental affairs, and in those of war, justice, and peace. He left many debtors because he had conducted his government uprightly; and his property was not able to pay them. They consider Don Geronimo, his son and successor, as capable and worthy of what your Majesty pleases to do for him and what charge you may give him.