470 SPANISH HISTORY nually been sent to attempt it. On the first arri- val of the Spaniards in these seas they conquered, in a short time^ all the Philippines, excepting the small island of 800I00, part of Mindanao, and a few other very insignificant islands near them, which, to thi> period, have not submitted. These Moorish Indians are certainly very valiant, and their enmi- ty has been drawn upon us by our own conduct ; for, instead of following the laudable example of the first settlers in these islands, who brought the natives under subjection, principally by the mild interference of the priesthood, it seems of late years to have been the object of the Spaniards, since the great increase of the lucrative commerce of Manila, to acquire, by oppression and force, lands and establishments on these islands, without any view to conciliate the natives. Those, there- fore, who have been sent on different occasions to reduce the country, have, instead of attending to the object of their mission, been solicitous only to serve their own purposes, considering that as a pri- mary, which ought to have been a secondary ob- ject ; and the natives, profiting by constant ex- perience in warfare, during which they discovered that the Spaniards were mortal like themselves, have at last become very formidable. There can be no doubt these Indians may be reduced by the same means employed with the others, that is, by sending missionaries amongst them, and a sufficient
