THE PETITION PRESENTED TO THE GOVERNOR
BY THE CITY AND THE ENCOMENDEROS ON
THE FIFTEENTH OF FEBRUARY, 1591
We, the corporation and magistrates of the city of Manila, for ourselves, and in the name of all these Filipinas Islands, and of their encomenderos, settlers, and discoverers, do declare the following: As is well known, many of us came here twenty-seven years ago, when these islands were discovered, and have spent years in the propagation of our holy Catholic faith, the defense of the preaching of the gospel, and the service of the king, our lord. On account of this devotion we abandoned our fatherland, and forgot our parents, brothers, and relatives, and the comforts which each one of us possessed; and after having endured the great dangers of a long and hitherto unknown voyage, we settled in a land where we have shed our blood, and suffered the fearful miseries of hunger, thirst, exposure, and many other hardships, so great that they have cost the lives of the many thousands of men who are known to have come to these islands—not to mention all those valiant soldiers who serve his Majesty throughout his realm. At the conclusion of so many toils and misfortunes—after we had made this discovery, and had pacified and brought under the royal crown the many vassals who today are to be found throughout these islands, and had brought to the bosom of our faith the great number of souls who have already received baptism—his Majesty and the governors in his name have rewarded us by allotting to us a certain number of natives. But these grants are under such limitations and the tributes are so moderate that the most prosperous among us (and there are but few) are living
