The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803/Volume 3/Las nuevas quescriven
NEWS FROM THE WESTERN ISLANDS
BY HERNANDO RIQUEL
AND OTHERS
I have always given advices of affairs hereabout, and therefore do so at the present, referring to some things which have happened since I last wrote—a letter sent by the last ships which arrived in that kingdom in the year 1570. I will mention the most notable events, leaving other and unimportant matters for other writers who may be less occupied than I; and I refer you to the captains, passengers, and other persons who go in these ships.
On the seventeenth of November of the year 1570, the governor Miguel Lopez de Legaspi left the river of Panai for Çubie.[1] According to the orders given him by his Majesty, he established a town of fifty inhabitants, to whom he allotted repartimientos of Indians,[2] with the approbation of the provincial. Fray Martin de Herrada, and of the master-of-camp and the captains.
After establishing this town[3] he returned to Panae, where, after his arrival, he remained until he prepared for the expedition to Manila—a city in the island of Luzon, and at present the principal settlement and camp of his Majesty. He set out on the sixteenth of April of the year one thousand five hundred and seventy-one, on Easter Monday. They embarked on the galley called "La Leona de España," completed in that season. On the way, they were detained thirty-two days before arriving at the said town of Manila. Before arriving there, and at about four leagues' distance, there came a spy sent by the chiefs to ascertain the purpose of the Spaniards in going thither. He was told by the governor that his purpose was one wholly of peace and friendship; and that, in order to confer about this more conveniently, and further to please the chiefs and natives, he was coming in person. The spy appeared greatly pleased at this, and then it was explained how the governor happened to go there, as has been said. He was well satisfied thereat, and, having received some presents from his Lordship, he returned to his people. The governor continued his voyage toward the port, with a mild and favoring wind. As the spy had not yet returned, the people of the town, as soon as they perceived us, commenced to set the houses on fire. As soon as the spy came, he made them put out the fire, explaining that our purpose was peaceful. They were thus reassured, and the chiefs—the aged Rraxa [Raja], Aljandora, Maguno, Marlanavay, and Salelaxa, the principal men of that land—prepared to come to receive us on the way. Raxa Soliman, through fear on account of what he did last year, did not accompany the others. When the governor learned that he did not come because of fear, he sent him by these chiefs assurance of safety. On the following day he came, but displayed continual fear. He excused himself for the past with fluency and adroitness; and, according to the reasons which he gave, there was no guilt in his actions. "As you already know, there is no king and no sole authority in this land; but everyone holds his own view and opinion, and does as he prefers. There were some persons more powerful than I, for, without license from me, they violated the peace and friendship, thus obliging me to be guilty of a lapse of duty. But if it had not been done in this wise, and they had done it with my approbation and advice, I would merit punishment. If I were king of this land, instead of being only the master of my own estate, the word I had given would not have been broken. But as this depended on the many, I could not, nor can I henceforth, do more than personally endeavor that my subjects and friends keep the peace and friendship that was established." When the governor understood the cause, he granted general pardon for the past, charging that now and in the future the promises made must be fulfilled. Therefore, in the name of his Majesty, he granted full grace. Because of these and other reasons, and by means of many presents, this Raja and all the other chiefs were satisfied, and peace was well established. A camp was formed in the land, and we have established a settlement, as well as we could; and every day more is being accomplished.
On the day of Pentecost there came to the shore of this settlement certain Moros of the region hereabout, some seventy in number, and with as many boats; they sent word to the governor that they came to fight with his troops. He replied that they must consider well what they were doing, as he was not willing to command that they be killed, or to inflict any harm upon them. On the contrary, he offered asylum and right of residence, that they might freely carry on their traffic. Many other arguments, promises, and presents were given them, and Christian exhortations made; but to no effect, for they stubbornly grew more boisterous. At this, the governor commanded that the master-of-camp, Martin de Goyti, should attack them. This the latter did with exceeding promptness, taking with him such troops as he chose. They embarked on several of the ships which had been made ready, leaving orders that the soldiers whom he had designated should follow him. They proceeded to a place marked by certain estuaries, to engage the enemy in naval battle. This was done, and the enemy were completely defeated; and they surrendered after inflicting but little injury upon the Spaniards, notwithstanding the great force of the enemy, and their many pieces of artillery. When they saw that they were conquered by so few Christians, they were astonished; and fear was inspired in all the natives of the country, who hold the Moros in high estimation. By this success, the country remained quiet for some time.
After this earnest efforts were made to come to friendly terms with the natives, and they were told of the treatment which had been accorded to the first ones. Several of those who had not been in this group declared that they desired no peace or friendship with the governor, or with his people; nor did they wish even to see or hear them, as no profit resulted to them thereby. On this account arguments were given pro and con; and in view of their obstinacy it was necessary to undertake to subdue them. This was done in many places, especially in a well-populated province named Panpagan [Pampanga], near this city of Manila. Demands and admonitions were given to all that they should render obedience to his Majesty. Those who refused to do so, it was necessary to fight and subdue, which was accomplished without much damage.
When the affairs of this country were in this condition, the governor heard of the arrival of two ships, the "Santiago" and the "San Juan." This caused universal satisfaction; and although the ships arrived in a bad condition, they were repaired as well as they could be, in order to make the return voyage to that Nueva Spaña. The same pleasure was experienced at the coming of Don Pedro de Luna[4] in the ship "Spiritu Santo." Of the three ships, two were despatched last year; but on account of their late departure they experienced stormy weather on the sea, and were compelled to put into port again. Accordingly, God willing, they will sail at the beginning of the month of July of this year, 1573.
On the twentieth of August of the past year, 1572, our Lord was pleased to call to Himself the governor, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. He died suddenly, having that day arisen in good health. In his cabinet a provision of his Majesty was found, issued by that royal Audiencia during his administration, on account of the death of the viceroy, Don Luis de Velasco. Therein were designated the successors of Miguel Lopez; and the office at this time fell to the treasurer, Guido de Labasaris. The authority was therefore delivered to him by the master-of-camp, his Majesty's officers, the cabildo of the city, and other officials. Everything is at peace and at his Majesty's service.
At present we reside in this city of Manila, in this island of Luzon, which is the most important of these districts. Both the former and the present governor apportioned the land, and the inhabitants thereof who were pacified. Thus as the land is subdued, it will be divided. Taxation is imposed in such a manner that every tributario must pay annually a piece of cotton cloth, which is very abundant in these islands. It must be ten [?] varas[5] in length and two varas wide. It is a thin cloth used by the natives for their clothing. Moreover, there must also be given two arrobas of rice, and one hen. It must be understood that this can be levied without difficulty, as there is an abundance thereof, and everyone possesses these articles. There are many people, so it is evident that there will be some very important repartimientos, yielding good profit.
In this island, there are many gold mines, some of which have been inspected by the Spaniards, who say that the natives work them as is done in Nueva Spaña with the mines of silver; and, as in those mines, the vein of ore here is continuous. Assays have been made, yielding so great wealth, that I shall not endeavor to describe them, lest I be suspected of lying.[6] Time will prove the truth.
The natives use this gold and mix it with copper, so cleverly as to deceive the best artisans of España.
Many traders have been encountered in this land; so, it is plain, the country will have them and the best trade which has been or may be discovered in all the Yndias.
A year ago there came to the port of this city three ships from China, and to the neighboring islands five more. Those which came here brought merchandise such as is used among the Chinese, and such as they bring here ordinarily. The distance from this island to the mainland is not great, the voyage lasting about eight days.
When those ships came in sight of the port, they sent from the sea to ask for assurance of safety. The governor granted it, and they were treated very well. They brought some trifles, although but a small quan-tity, as the natives, with whom they come principally to trade, commonly use, and for them are brought only large earthern jars, common crockery, iron, copper, tin, and other things of that kind. For the chiefs, they brought a few pieces of silks and fine porcelain; but these goods are not especially out of the common. For the Spaniards they brought some fine ware and other articles, which they readily sold, since we who are here have plenty of money, and the Chinese need it. They are so delighted that they will surely return in six or seven months, and will bring a great abundance of many very rare articles.
They brought specimens of many kinds of goods peculiar to their country, in order to arrange the price at which they can be sold—such as quicksilver, powder, pepper, fine cinnamon, cloves, sugar, iron, copper, tin, brass, silks in textiles of many kinds and in skeins, realgar,[7] camphor, various kinds of crockery, luscious and sweet oranges; and a thousand other goods and trifles quite as many as the Flemings bring. Moreover, they brought images of crucifixes and very curious seals, made like ours. The cause of this unusual visit is that freedom, and passage to their own country, were given to some Chinese who were slaves among us; those people spread the news of this settlement, where they could come with safety and trade freely; accordingly they came, with the ships and goods to which we have already referred.
It must be understood that those people are very peculiar in their traffic, costume, and customs; every day this is more evident, since some of the inhabitants of this city are natives of China. From them it is learned that the land is very rich and thickly populated. The king is well prepared for war and the frontiers are well fortified with many forts with artillery and garrisons wherein strict watch is kept. They say that from the city of Canton, one of the strongest towns on the coast of the mainland, there is a distance of one year's travel before arriving at Paquin [Pekin], the residence of the king; this means from coast to coast of the land. There are many very populous cities on the way, but if his Majesty would be pleased so to command, they could be subdued and conquered with less than sixty good Spanish soldiers.
There are a few other small matters to be mentioned concerning Xolo, which will be made clear by what is sent in these ships. The matter most essential to this country is what I have already referred to today, regarding trade. May the good prospect of riches and traffic be all to the service of our Lord.
Relation of what was brought by the two ships which came from the islands of the West, and other things referring thereto given that the resources of those provinces may be better understood.[8]
448 marcos of gold, of different degrees of purity.
712 pieces of all kinds of silks.
312 quintals of cinnamon.
22,300 pieces of fine gilt china, and of other kinds of porcelain ware.
11,300 pieces of cotton cloth, each worth 2 pesos or more of common gold.
930 arrobas of wax, each arroba worth 15 pesos of common gold.
334 arrobas of cotton thread, each arroba worth 17 to 20 pesos of said gold.
Many other small articles were brought, the value of which cannot be given as it is not known.
By another ship which is now being loaded and which we expect every day, it is understood that there will come a large quantity of all the goods which these two ships have brought.
For their Majesties individually, are sent from those provinces many jewels and crowns of gold, with silks, porcelains, rich and large earthen jars, and other very excellent things which are sent by the chiefs in token of their allegiance. For the first fruits of that land two ships are being prepared in which reënforcements of two hundred soldiers will be sent. In the meantime, more ships are being prepared in which it is understood that many people will sail. This good news is forwarded to his Majesty by two duplicates in different ships, which, may it please our Lord, may arrive in safety. From Mexico, January xj, 1574.
[Endorsed at beginning: "Relation of the news written from the islands of the West, by Hernando Rrequel, government notary thereof, and others, whose letters came in one of two ships which left the port of Manila on the first of the month of July, 1573, and anchored at the port of Acapulco of this Nueva Spaña on November 15 of said year."]
[Endorsed at end: "News of the Phelippinas Islands." In another hand: "1573, 1574. Information about the Western (now Filipinas) Islands and China, written by Hernando Requel, government notary thereof, and others in the year 1573; sent from Mexico in 1574, whence he addressed them."]
- ↑ The Ultramar MS. (see Bibliographical Data at end of this volume) reads, "the river of Panaca to Cubo."
- ↑ From this point this paragraph in the Ultramar MS. reads as follows: "As justly as possible. But although it was done thus, complaints were heard, because not so many natives were found as the list made by the person who had visited this district gave us to understand. This list was so summary that it could not be true. The encomenderos urged that the governor should make the number of each repartimiento equal to the list. Therefore each encomendero received the number for which he petitioned."
- ↑ The Ultramar MS. reads here: "named Cebu, he set out for Prognal."
- ↑ Martin Enriquez writes to the king (January 9, 1574), urging that a new governor for the Philippines be appointed: "I beg your Majesty to appoint, within a very short time, some person who shall have the necessary qualifications for governing that land; for otherwise neither Christianity nor the royal estate will be able to make much progress there. Even since I wrote to your Majesty, I have heard fuller details of certain things from among the many which are bound to occur, and all through lack of justice. I had charged Don Pedro de Luna to bring me a detailed relation of everything that he should hear concerning matters there, and, as he died at sea, I sent word to the Alcalde Mayor of Acapulco to look through his coffers for all his papers, and send them to me, suspecting that I would not like to trust everything to his memory. In this way I have ascertained from them that there is beyond question need that your Majesty should endeavor to secure better administration of justice there, and provide some one to take greater care of your Majesty's finances."
- ↑ The Muñoz letter (see Bibliographical Data at end of this volume) says, "four varas." The reading of our text is uncertain, as the number is not written in full, but is designated by a contraction difficult to read.
- ↑ The Ultramar MS. has the following: "It is enough to say, and I swear it on my oath as a Christian, that there is said to be more gold in this one island than iron in Vizcaya." This is very similar to the reading in the MS. copied by Muñoz.
- ↑ The red sulphuret of arsenic.
- ↑ This and what follows was apparently added by the officials in Mexico.