Book: The Philippine Islands, 1493 1898

E >> E. H. Blair >> The Philippine Islands, 1493 1898




The said Gomez Perez was charged also to construct a moderate-sized
coasting fleet of a few galleys or fragatas to guard and cruise along
the coasts, and prevent the thefts and damages that the Japanese were
wont to inflict throughout them, especially in the districts of Gagaian
and Yllocos. There they were wont to capture the Chinese vessels that
bring food and merchandise to the said islands. This was the cause
of great loss, and an impediment to commerce and plenty. Likewise the
fleet could be used to prevent the Chinese, on their return to their
country, from harming the natives of the above-mentioned islands,
to afford protection against Chinese and Bornean pirates, and to
oppose any other acts or attempts of foreigners. In conformity with
this order, the said Gomez Perez had eight galleys built, which he had
well manned. They were of great use for the protection and defense of
those lands. Therefore it is desirable that they be maintained. Hence
I order you to see that they are well manned and provisioned. You
must keep close watch over the conscripts, so that the fate of Gomez
Perez may not occur again. You shall have another galley built to
replace the one lost. Inasmuch as you must maintain the roll of men
complete, you are advised that if you find that the scruples raised by
certain men, in regard to the Indian slaves bought by the said Gomez
Perez in order to man the said galleys, as there were no other men
available for them, are still in force, then it will be advisable
for you and the archbishop, together with those persons whom you
both think advisable, to discuss this matter, and to determine how
the galleys can be maintained and manned without the said scruples;
or that those who have those scruples, may tell how the land may be
made secure without them. You shall advise me of everything and of
the account given to you by the commander and officers of the said
galleys, as to their condition, adequacy, and services.

Upon your arrival at those islands, and when you shall have taken
charge of your office, you shall investigate the new method and
conditions by which new invasions and pacifications may be lawfully
made; also the smallness of the number of men, the slight cost, and the
great ease and advantage with which they should be made, because of the
division of the country into many islands and among many petty rulers,
who easily come to blows among themselves, and ally themselves with
the Spaniards, and hence can be preserved with but few soldiers. Since
the petition in regard to the pay and number of the soldiers there
was conceded--and you must keep the soldiers in good discipline, and
satisfied and well-paid--you shall make the said expeditions of entry
and pacification with great forethought and justification. You shall
observe the ordinances in the instructions for new discoveries, which
shall be given you, and shall not transgress them one jot or tittle in
regard both to what is pacified during your term, and to conserving
that, as well as what shall have been pacified before; for in both
cases you must do this without any sort of violence or ill treatment,
but with the kind treatment by which friends must be preserved. Thus
if there has been any excess in this--which has been done contrary to
my will and orders--it must entirely cease in whatever shall be done
during your term. By this I lighten my conscience and charge yours.

The great need for the said pacification in the said islands has
been reported, especially in those very districts where the Spaniards
live, and which they frequent. These districts are all in rebellion
and unsubdued, because of the lack of soldiers. Report has been made
also of the injuries and vexations caused by the soldiers there to
the natives. And inasmuch as things are come to such a pass there,
according to report, that the island of Lucon has many provinces
which have never been subdued, or if subdued, are in rebellion--as
for instance, Cagayan, Panga[sinan?], Oncian, Cambales, Valenses,
and others, all in the midst of the pacified provinces, and near
and contiguous to Manila, and all in confusion and lack of any
regulation--as soon as you reach the said islands, with the advice and
opinion of the Audiencia, you shall ordain what is most advisable in
this matter. You shall begin, as may be reasonable and most desirable,
by attending to the general improvement of these conditions, and with
especial care and assistance; for evil might come upon the distant
places, if the part at your very doors is left under suspicion and
unsubdued. Besides there is the obligation to try to secure the
continuation of the instruction of so many people as are already
converted, and under my royal protection. Because these do not have
the peace and tranquillity required, they suffer great hardships
and wrongs from those who are in rebellion and unpacified. Daily
the latter harass, kill, and assault them, and burn their crops. On
this account, and because they kill many Spaniards also, not only is
there no advance made in conquests, but that portion conquered is
being daily diminished. In order to reform this state of affairs,
you shall give commands, in accordance with what has been said
above, with great consideration and justification. You shall always
observe, as aforesaid, the ordinances set forth in the instructions
for discoveries, pacifications, and the introduction of the gospel,
without violating them in any point.

Beside the said provinces that are in rebellion in places, among
the Spaniards and Indians already converted, there are others, which
although they do not lie so near, yet, in respect to their distances
and the nature of their inhabitants, cannot be termed new discoveries,
as they are already known and considered--as, for instance, Babuyanes,
the island of Hermosa, the island of Caballos, Lequios, the islands of
Ancion, Jabas, Burney, Pacaguan, Calanyanes, Mindanao, Sido, Maluco,
and many others. Since, as it is reported, the condition of these
provinces is daily becoming worse, and it is advised that it would be
necessary to pacify them for the welfare and safety of the Spaniards,
and that delay might make that task more difficult, you shall inform
yourself as to how the said pacification and conquest can be best and
most quickly made. You shall perform it with the advice and opinion
of the Audiencia, in the form and manner most advisable. You shall
always observe in everything the form above mentioned, and no other.

As I have thought it advisable that you, whom I trust so completely,
should, with the advice and opinion of the Audiencia, have power and
authority to make the said expeditions of entry and pacifications at
the cost of my royal exchequer, in consideration of the fact that,
if you in lands so remote were compelled to await a reply from here,
important opportunities and occasions might be lost, I have resolved
to empower you for this purpose. Accordingly I give you this power,
and I order the officials of my royal exchequer of the said islands to
honor all your orders on them for the said purpose, from the moneys
in their power. But you are to take note that you shall exercise the
said power only in the most important matters that arise. You shall
beforehand communicate regarding these, not only with the Audiencia,
as above stated, but also with ecclesiastical or secular persons,
or such of them as you shall deem suitable and of greatest merit and
experience, in order that whatever is done be concurred in by all and
the expense be no greater than what is unavoidable. You shall endeavor
to make as safe as possible the regions pacified and subdued. You
shall advise me, with the minuteness and circumspectness required
by the importance of this matter and my desire for its execution,
of what you do, of what is pacified, the means that you employ,
and the condition in which it shall be placed and left.

In order that this may be done better and at the least expense, I
authorize you, after having resolved upon the expeditions of entry
and the new pacifications that it is advisable to make, in the form
above mentioned, to covenant and agree with captains, encomenderos,
and any others, in regard to the said expeditions of entry and
pacifications. They shall make them wholly or partly at their own cost,
as you may deem more advisable. These men shall be given title as
governors of the islands or provinces that they discover or pacify,
and for a limited time as captains and masters-of-camp. However,
you shall not grant them title as adelantados or mariscals; but,
when anyone claims such a title, you shall refer the matter to
me, with a relation of the services, character, and merits of the
claimant. The said contracts and covenants that you shall make, may,
with the concurrence and advice of the Audiencia, remain in force
until I approve them, in order to gain time, but on the condition
of referring everything to me. For this, in conformity with it, you
shall bind the parties to produce the said confirmations within a
certain brief period fixed by yourself. They shall bind themselves
to observe in their pacifications the said orders and instructions
given by me for making the said pacifications and new discoveries,
and, after they are made, for conserving them; for in this matter you
must make no exemptions, nor shall I make any in any case, nor shall
any contract be kept with those who do not observe and keep the above.

I have been informed also that there has been, and is at present,
much irregularity in the collection of the tributes from the Indians,
because the former governors of the said islands made the appraisements
in a very confused and haphazard manner. For, although each Indian's
tribute is worth eight reals, paid in whatever the Indian possesses,
yet on account of certain words in the said appraisals and of the
articles which are assigned for tribute--such as cotton cloth,
and other products of the country--occasion is given for the said
irregularity. This has resulted in each one's collecting whatever he
wished, to the great offense and wrong of the said Indians; for when
gold is plentiful, their encomenderos demand money, and when the
latter is abundant and gold scarce, they demand gold, even though
the said Indians have to seek and buy it. In short, they always
demand the said tributes in those things that are scarce. Thus for
the tribute of eight reals, some collect fifteen, and others twenty,
twenty-five, thirty, and more, according to the value of the products
that they demand, which they cause the Indians to seek and bring
from other districts, to their great distress and affliction. As it
is advisable to remedy this disorder and excess, I charge you that,
with the concurrence and advice of the Audiencia, you shall endeavor
to have the decree followed in regard to the payment by the said
Indians of their tribute in money, gold, or land products--as they
choose, without being forced or urged to pay it in any other thing
or product whereby they suffer the said wrong, or any similar wrong;
this shall be observed in the payment of the said tributes.

In regard to the lawlessness that has existed and exists, in the
departure of the said religious from the said islands to the mainland
of China and other places, without permission from the governor or
archbishop (declaring that, because of their universal power, they will
excommunicate those who prevent them) I have previously made known
what was regarded as advisable--namely, that the religious should
go to the said Philipinas Islands fully resolved to settle there,
and not to go to any other place without your permission and that
of the said archbishop; for I am sending them for this purpose, and
they go there at so great expense to me, in order that my obligation
to furnish instruction might be fulfilled. It is not right that,
when they go there, they should frustrate all the above for their own
individual ends and purposes, in order that they might secure and enjoy
the privileges on which they are established; without being bound to
their ministry, which they have no right to abandon. This must be
understood as affecting the religious who go there for the purpose
of settling and remaining in the islands, and not those who have my
permission to go farther to other districts; for, when the latter is
given or granted them, it will be after weighty consideration.

I have been informed also that, in order to correct the license that
has existed, and the wrongs that have resulted from the departure
of some from the said islands for China and other countries without
order or permission, it would be advisable to ordain, under severe
penalties, that no Spanish layman may leave the islands for any place,
or to attend to any business, or give fragata, supplies, or any
other aid to any of the said religious, except by my special order,
or by your permission and that of the said archbishop. Inasmuch as
this is cooerdinate with the contents of the preceding section, you
shall note what is provided therein, for the same must be understood
in what touches this matter, which it covers completely.

I have been informed that wrongs are inflicted on the heathen Chinese
Indians who go to trade at the said islands, both in permitting
the guards stationed by my royal officials on their vessels to take
bribes (which are brought from China to give to private individuals,
in order to allow them to do certain things), and in the conduct of
those who register the vessels, who seize and take from them all the
best merchandise, and leave them only the worst. This they pay for
only at the price brought by the rejected merchandise. The Chinese,
because they fear lest those who register their vessels should take
their merchandise from them at the time of appraisal, value them at
prices much in excess of their true value. The result of this is that,
as the goods are sold afterward at very low rates, the Chinese pay
my duties at the rate of valuation. Moreover, the masts are taken
from their vessels in order to place them in Spanish vessels, as
they are light; and in exchange they are given others, which are
so heavy that they are lost. This is not right and ought not to be
permitted. Therefore I charge you not to allow it, or to permit any
wrong to be inflicted upon the said Indians. On the contrary, both
you and the said Audiencia shall take special care to remedy the said
wrongs, and to punish those who inflict them. You shall show all kind
treatment and attention, both to the above and to all others who went
there before for trade and commerce. You shall expedite them in every
way and treat them well, as is advisable--not only so that they may
continue the trade, but also so that they may be led to abandon the
idolatry and blindness in which they live, and to receive instruction
in the law of the gospel.

Because of the importance of attention to duties of citizenship on the
part of citizen encomenderos--both for the conservation and defense
of the said islands, and for their settlement and increase--I charge
you to grant leave to no encomendero, under any considerations,
to absent himself from the said islands, even if he should have
permission from the viceroy and Audiencia of Nueva Espana. If anyone
should absent himself without permission from me, or unless you
shall have granted him permission for unavoidable reasons, you shall
deprive him of his encomienda, and bestow it upon another and more
deserving citizen. Inasmuch as Mariscal Gavriel de Rivera, Captain
Juan Pacheco Maldonado, and other citizens went to Nueva Espana by
permission of former governors, and although they have petitioned me
for a prolongation of their stay there, not only have I not conceded
this to them, but I have answered them bidding them to return. They
were warned that their encomiendas would be declared vacant, as the
time granted by their permission is already expired, unless they
should have returned within the period by which they were bound. If
you ascertain, upon your arrival at Nueva Espana, that they have not
returned to the said islands, then you shall deprive them of the said
encomiendas, and give the same to others. You shall admit no objection
or excuse, for whatever you do contrary to this, now and henceforth,
I hereby declare as invalid and null and void.

As I was petitioned, in behalf of the said islands, to grant them a
concession ordering exemption from the duties on the first sale of the
goods that they send to the port of Acapulco and other places, and also
that the twelve pesos per tonelada of freight shipped by the citizens
of those islands be not collected at the said port of Acapulco--this
is the duty imposed by Don Goncalo Ronquillo--answer was made them
that the proceeds from these duties were very necessary in order to
pay the soldiers and for other expenses. Accordingly Gomez Perez was
ordered in his instructions to have them collected for the above-named
purpose, and you shall do the same, until I ordain and order otherwise.

Much has been reported of the disadvantages arising from the trade
between those islands and China. The Portuguese have complained
of this, and declared it to be of great harm to them in their
trading. They allege other reasons, in order to persuade me that
this trade should be prohibited. But other reasons, proving the
contrary, have not been lacking here, the first and foremost (and
it is true) being that, by this means, the land already discovered
can be conserved, and the gospel can be introduced into other lands
farther on--a matter that under any other regime would be difficult and
almost impossible; and although the Portuguese offer other important
arguments, this is what most influences me. Therefore, in order
to adopt the method which will best harmonize these difficulties,
my council discussed the matter, and advised what you will see in
the decrees which have been despatched on this occasion, and which
shall be given you. I order you to have them observed and obeyed to
the letter. However, if any disadvantages should result, or if there
are any other more desirable methods, you shall advise me of all,
so that after investigation, the advisable steps may be taken.

Because of my great desire that the contents of section seventeen
be obeyed to the letter, I charge and order you that, whenever
you write me and send me despatches, you shall send a minute and
exact relation of all the meritorious persons who claim reward for
services that they have performed in the reduction, pacification,
and conservation of that land, with the character, seniority, and
other circumstances concerning each of them. You shall send also a
list of those whom you shall reward, with the means, method, reason,
and justification of the reward that you shall have given them. This
shall include both the vacant encomiendas that you shall have allotted,
and the posts that you shall have filled, or any other means that you
shall have employed in granting the said rewards. For if I have this
information regarding them all, then the reason for the complaints and
grievances of certain men can be investigated, who assert that they
do not receive the reward and remuneration that they demand. In order
to bind them more closely to the fulfilment of the aforesaid, a decree
of like tenor shall be sent you, and you shall examine and obey it.

As you will find out, especial care has been taken that the
ecclesiastics and friars who present themselves to give instruction
should learn the language of the Indians whom they are to teach
and instruct; and that chairs should be established where the said
language may be taught, so that there may be plenty of priests
and ministers who know the language, in order to fulfil the above
purpose. But inasmuch as this method has not proved, nor is it now,
a sufficient aid by which the Indians may be taught and instructed in
the Christian faith and religion, so that they may receive as much
benefit therefrom as is advisable and desirable--and as they would
have received had the same care been taken to teach all the Indians
Castilian, by which plan more and better ministers would have been
had for their teaching and instruction, and they would have fallen
into fewer errors, or none, on account of their idolatries and other
former vices and superstitions--it has been deemed advisable to
provide in this regard the decree [34] that will be given you with
these instructions. Accordingly, after you shall have caused that
decree to be proclaimed in the usual public places, with the necessary
solemnities and other ceremonies, you shall meet with the Audiencia
and secular and regular ecclesiastical dignitaries, and all together
you shall decide and ordain how the contents of the said decree may
be observed, obeyed, and executed exactly and to the letter, both in
that city and in all the other cities of those islands and provinces,
so that all its contents may be fulfilled and executed. You shall
have the care in this that I expect from you, and as is demanded
by its importance. Thus will our Lord be very greatly served, and
the souls of the Indians advantaged. Whenever opportunity offers,
you shall advise me of what shall be ordained for its fulfilment,
and the manner and method of executing it.

And inasmuch as I have ever exercised especial care in maintaining
all the kingdoms and provinces subject to me in peace, tranquillity,
and justice, for this same purpose and object I established an
audiencia in that said city and province, in order that everything
might be governed by means of it, and justice administered with the
universal equality, mildness, and satisfaction desirable. After its
establishment I ordered it to be suppressed, as experience proved
it to be unnecessary in a land so new and unsettled. In its place I
sent a governor; and although his administration was excellent, yet,
inasmuch as that community has grown and, it is hoped, will continue
to grow, I have thought it advisable to found and establish the said
Audiencia again. Accordingly, after having appointed you in the place
of Gomez Perez, your predecessor, I have determined to establish the
said Audiencia again. It shall be located in those districts, in order
that their government may be similar to that of the other kingdoms
under my dominion. I have appointed for it persons as auditors, a
fiscal, and other officials. I have renewed the former ordinances
[35] by which that said Audiencia was founded. You shall examine
those ordinances, in order to have them observed and obeyed with the
exactness that I expect from you. You shall mamtain the necessary peace
and harmony with those acting as auditors, so that your government
may be all that is needful and as I desire for the consolation,
relief, and happiness of that community, and of its inhabitants,
and my vassals therein. You on both sides [governor and Audiencia]
shall administer the government with care, understanding--especially
those of you who might be the cause of disturbing the peace, harmony,
and friendly relations with which you, on both sides and jointly,
must carry on the government--that I shall consider myself well served
in the accomplishment and execution of this. I charge this upon you,
and expect you to accomplish it with the good example that is due
from you in everything.

You shall exercise great care not to send judges on special commissions
except in necessary and unavoidable cases, in order to avoid the harm
that they generally cause to communities. This must be avoided there,
chiefly because that community has been settled so recently. It is
advisable to act with greater caution in this matter, as in everything
else, for the better conservation and increase of that community.

You shall exercise the same and greater care to maintain thorough
harmony and unity with all the ecclesiastical dignitaries, both
secular and regular, and with all the ecclesiastical estate; for many
consequences, very important for the general and individual good of
all that land and all those provinces, can be expected from the good
example resulting from this. At Toledo, on the twenty-fifth day of May,
in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-six.

_I The King_

By order of the king, our sovereign:

_Joan de Ybarra_

Signed by the president and members of the Council.





Letter from Luis Perez Dasmarinas to Felipe II


Sire:

With some misgiving and anxiety, Sire, I have considered whether
or no I should write this to your Majesty, but necessity and not my
wish obliges me. For some reasons I would like to leave it unwritten,
particularly because I do not care to contradict myself and appear,
in what I am about to write and ask of your Majesty, to change my
ground from what I have written to your Majesty before about some of
my affairs. I cease not to fear and dread that the reason of this may
appear from what I write now and what has before been written, to be
an invention, artifice, or plot. It is not so, although I confess it
does in some wise appear so. Speaking with frankness and truth, Sire,
which is the way in which I have concluded to write this, and as one
should always write, particularly to your Majesty, the fact is, Sire,
that my affairs have taken a different turn from what I expected when
I wrote to your Majesty. By the compassion and grace of God I have no
longer that wish, intent, and desire, which I have expressed in other
letters to your Majesty, concerning my wish and desire of obtaining
a state more quiet and safe and less disturbed, and less dangerous
for my past and present salvation. In order not to tire or occupy
your Majesty with an affair of so little weight and moment, although
it means much to me, I declare, Sire, that, according to my desire
and intention, I wrote to your Majesty exempting myself and bidding
farewell to human and temporal pretensions, thinking that they were
not necessary for me, and rather desiring to assist with what I had,
some persons in need, debt, and obligation. Since then my affairs here
have gone in the usual and ordinary way of the world, which is unlike,
even contrary to, human project, plan, and judgment. Many times things
are planned very differently from what actually happens afterwards,
as is verified by my case. For I thought to have something to leave,
and I am obliged to ask for aid; and I may truly say that it is
not for myself, but for those whom I owe and am under strict and
just obligations to satisfy and pay. The debts are such and so many,
that no calculation can be made. In December, when I wrote to your
Majesty by way of Malaca, according to my understanding the debts were
somewhat more than thirty-eight thousand pesos. Although it is true
that some were paid later, I have not adjusted or liquidated my debts
so that I can state the amount; yet I can assure your Majesty that
altogether I owe a very large sum at present. God knows how overcome
with confusion I am when I consider my debts and obligations and the
little I have to satisfy them. Thus, Sire, your Majesty cannot fail
of the assistance which is necessary for one who has so little and
owes so much, and who has to pay it and, moreover, answer and give
account for his father and himself. Besides what was paid and spent
by my father, after his death were contracted debts not far from
twenty-five or twenty-six thousand pesos, and in addition to the
aforesaid, there are other things not yet cleared up of which the
amount is not known. On account of all this I have ventured to give
a report to your Majesty, so that, knowing the burden of obligations
and the plight of this least of your Majesty's servants, who is in this
land so distant and far from his own, your Majesty may be pleased with
your royal and most pious compassion to take pity upon and show mercy
to this, his most insignificant servant. For his relief, after God,
he depends on the royal graciousness and aid of your Majesty, as from
his king and lord, from whom and from whose magnanimity, after God,
depends my weal, succor, and liberty. As necessity teaches those who
suffer to seek plans and modes for relief, I shall propose to your
Majesty what seems to me the most convenient and speedy remedy. I
desire that your Majesty may be pleased but to grant me grace and
license to send and despatch to Peru, if perchance it be expedient,
and I am able so to do, a ship of two hundred and fifty or three
hundred toneladas, with articles and goods from China--although I do
not know what I can do with my small capital and means. Yet it is to
be considered that here a ship is made and built at much less cost
than elsewhere; and, if it were of no more than the said tonnage,
it might be done in some way or other. This would be exceeding grace
and relief for this least of your Majesty's servants, who humbly begs
that it be so done. I ask it not with designs, plans, and desires
for greater profits and riches, to be held and enjoyed; but for the
relief and payment of so great necessities and strict obligations,
and in behalf of others. If there should be anything left over after
fulfilling these obligations, and should your Majesty be pleased to
grant me this grace according to my plan, there might result profit to
this commonwealth. The cargo sent there could at the same time bring
aid to me and relief to the commonwealth--or, as I say, convenience
and profit. A ship of so little tonnage sent only once to Peru cannot
take an excessive or inordinate cargo. For this reason also, I beseech
your Majesty to grant me this grace; and although I have many excuses
wherewith to move and incline the royal heart and compassion of
your Majesty, by referring to several of my affairs and services,
I omit to do so. I only supplicate your Majesty most humbly by the
royal magnanimity and the necessity of this least of your Majesty's
servants. May your Majesty be pleased to grant me this grace. Above
all, I beseech the Divine Majesty of God our Lord that, if this be not
meet for His glory or service, or if there may result therefrom some
damage or prejudice to His cause or that of your Majesty, His Divine
Majesty will move your Majesty not to permit or concede me this grace
which I ask. May His Divine Majesty preserve your Majesty as He is
able, and as we all desire and need. Amen: Manila, June 30, 1596.

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