The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803/Volume 3/Two letters
TWO LETTERS FROM GUIDO DE LAVEZARIS TO FELIPE II
Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty:
In the past year of seventy-three, I sent to your Majesty, by two ships despatched to the kingdoms of Nueva España, a written account of what had occurred in these regions until that time. A few days after the departure of these two ships, I despatched another one, which had taken more time in its preparations. The last-named vessel followed a different course from the others, and put into a harbor again, after having sailed all around this island of Luçon, on account of the bad weather with which it met. The ship has been detained until now in order to repair it, and to make all the necessary preparations. We are waiting every day for the arrival of the ships from Nueva España, for it is already time that they should arrive; but, in order that the vendavales may not prevent the navigation of this ship, we shall not detain it here until the others arrive—although it would have been much better for the service of your Majesty to receive an explanation of matters regarding which an answer was expected.
With the service of God and that of your Majesty in mind, as soon as the ships left for Nueva España, I despatched Captain Juan de Salçedo in July, seventy-three, with one hundred and twenty soldiers in vessels like those used by these natives, to win over and conquer Bicor River and the province of Los Camarines, on the east side of this island of Luçon. He brought under the dominion and obedience of your Majesty all that region, with about twenty thousand of its natives, with as little injury as possible. Some villages paid their tribute in gold. They have abundant stores of food, and possess gold-mines. The people are the most valiant yet found in these regions; they possess much good armor—as iron corselets, greaves, wristlets, gauntlets, and helmets—and some arquebuses and culverins. They are the best and most skilful artificers in jewels and gold that we have seen in this land. Almost all the people of Los Camarines pursue this handicraft. Close upon the province of Los Camarines and Bicor River are the mines of Paracali. As soon as the ships arrive, I shall try to effect a settlement near those mines with the people that may come, for I consider it a matter of importance for the service of your Majesty; and I shall continue the apportionment of the discovered and peaceful district of that region.
In July of the past year, seventy-three, a ship despatched by the viceroy Don Martin Enriquez arrived at these islands from Nueva España. It brought us news which caused great joy and satisfaction in this camp of your Majesty. We learned that God had granted the Queen, our lady, the delivery of a prince,[1] so much desired by all, and that her Majesty is enjoying the good health so needful. Our Lord was pleased to grant us such a marked favor, and we beseech Him to preserve your Majesty, the Queen our lady, and his Highness many years for us; for only thus shall we not fear any adversity, nor can we desire greater things in this new world.
In order that we might better celebrate this news, we heard at the same time of the victory won by the most serene[2] of Austria over the fleet of the Turk, a victory which has proved as great and signal as we expected from the zeal of his Holiness and from your Majesty; for God having seen that both had taken His honor so at heart, has been pleased to show part of His strength, so that in a single day He has made your Majesty master of the sea. Considering the great Catholic zeal of your Majesty, God will be pleased also to make your Majesty master of the land in which His holy faith is exalted, and afterward He will grant you a share in heaven, as one employed in matters so holy deserves. I pray that God may preserve your Majesty and so great a brother many years for the welfare and prosperity of Christianity.
On account of the necessity of visiting the islands of Cubu, Panae, and others near by, and for the arrangement of matters therein necessary for the service of your Majesty, and the preservation of those natives, I went there in the month of November, of last year, seventy-three, and found that the town of Nombre de Jhesus in the island of Cubu was almost deserted, and that its inhabitants were roaming about in the neighboring islands. I ordered them to assemble and resettle the said town; and since in doing so they would be poor and needy, I gave and distributed among them in the name of your Majesty all that was near at hand. Then I visited all the other towns until I reduced all things to the order and arrangement necessary, and left the natives quiet and reconciled. It took me four months to accomplish this so that I returned to the city of Manila in the month of March of this year.
As I considered the friendship of the king of Borney an important matter for the service of your Majesty, I sent to him a Moro, a native of this island, as messenger, with certificates of security so that his people may freely come to these islands to trade, as they were accustomed to do. For the friendship of this king and the commerce will open us a way for the establishment of a community and the erection of a fort in that island; and if people come [hither from Nueva España] it will be necessary for me to go or to send others to settle that island, for the service of your Majesty requires it.
The lord and chief of Bindanao River[3] has also notified me, through letters, that he wishes to be our friend and your Majesty's vassal. This is also an important matter, for the place is suitably situated for your royal service. That river is the most important one in the island and the latter receives its name from it. If I have the opportunity I shall send men there; and, if convenient, we shall make a settlement there.
In case I have people and ships enough, I intend to send men to discover the islands of Lequios [Liu-Kiu] on this side of Japan. This will be of much importance to the service of your Majesty.
Inasmuch as this island of Luçon is so large, and as, for the preservation of the natives, we need some settlements of Spaniards to protect and defend them, and teach them our holy Catholic faith, it seemed best to send Captain Juan de Salcedo with seventy or eighty soldiers to people the coast of Los Ylocos, on the shores of a river called Bigan. There I ordered him to found the town of Fernandina in memory of the prince, our master[4] (may he live many happy years); and I continued to apportion, in the name of your Majesty, all that had been discovered and won over thereabout, reserving for your Majesty what had been ordered me through your royal decree.
The Chinese, in view of the kind treatment that they have always received and do receive at our hands, continue to increase their commerce each year, and supply us with many articles as sugar, wheat, and barley flour, nuts, raisins, pears, and oranges; silks, choice porcelains and iron; and other small things which we lacked in this land before their arrival. This year they gave me a drawing of the coast of China, made by themselves, which I am sending to your Majesty.
There is great need in these regions of Franciscan, Dominican, and Theatin religious, and of some ecclesiastics, for the conversion of the natives. The Theatins are much and especially needed; for, as an eyewitness, I know the great results that they have obtained in Yndia. With the coming of more people, it will be necessary to found a few Spanish settlements in this island of Luçon, which is large, and in other islands; for already these natives are being baptized daily, and are embracing our holy faith and religion. They are very quiet and reconciled, and will be more so when many religious of the said orders have arrived; for at present we have only ten Augustinian religious here, and they are not sufficient for the great labor demanded of them. I repeat that the service of your Majesty requires the presence here of Franciscan religious and of some Theatins.
This year we have brought from the island of Bindanao three hundred quintals of cinnamon for your Majesty. This ship, being small, will carry no more than eighty quintals, so that we have here three hundred and fifty quintals more to send in the ships which may come later.
I am also sending to Nueva España cinnamon plants, and pepper plants of the round and large variety; also roots taken from Chinese stock, so that they may be raised there for your Majesty.
I am sending a bundle of cinnamon branches with leaves, and three flasks of cinnamon water, for her Majesty the Queen, our lady.
Last year I sent to your Majesty in this ship a cup and fourteen earrings of gold. Now I do the same, and add four daggers of the kind used by these natives.
For his Highness the prince our master, I am sending a crown, two gold chains, and two daggers. Not considering the objects themselves, or the person who sends them, may your Majesty accept them as articles sent from regions so far away, with the desire of serving your Majesty.
For the good management of your royal exchequer, we need two men to fill the offices of treasurer and of factor. These offices are vacant at present; for while the governor Miguel Lopez lived I served as treasurer, but at his death I succeeded him in his charge, and sent the factor under arrest to Nueva España for certain charges made against him. Your Majesty will also see that we are supplied with an attorney-general, for we are in much need of one.
Juan de Ledesma and Valmaseda, your Majesty's secretaries, sent to this your camp three of your royal decrees, in which we are ordered not to fill again the office of purveyor-general or any other office in these islands; and that from the gold, silver, and jewels discovered, the royal fifths shall be taken.[5] This will be heeded and carried out according to the orders of your Majesty. I am also ordered to send a report concerning the slaves of these islands, how and for what reasons they are enslaved; and also concerning the Augustinian religious who are here. In fulfilment of the latter command, I say that at present there are only ten religious of the said order in these islands. As to the slaves, I am sending to the members of your Royal Council of the Indies the report which your Majesty orders me to make, and in which I explain the conditions and causes of their slavery.[6]
We do not notify your Majesty of the many details which arise here, because we have reported, and do report all to your viceroy of Nueva España, who attends to your royal service in all that we need here with much diligence and promptness, so that nothing has been overlooked.
Since we came to this settlement of the city of Manila, the religious who reside in these islands have shown so much scruple in regard to collecting tribute from reconciled and apportioned communities that some of them have several times affirmed in the pulpit that one could not conscientiously levy tribute, and have made other assertions at which all have been grieved. Since this idea is being stirred up now more than ever, I asked the provincial of the order to give me his opinion concerning the matter in writing. He did so, and gave me an opinion which, although prompted by holy zeal and commendable in certain respects, is nevertheless severe; and, if it should be heeded, this land could not be maintained. To anticipate the religious who might notify your Majesty, or send copy of the said "Opinion," and to keep your Majesty informed of the truth, a reply to the "Opinion" was drawn with the consent of the master-of-camp, captains, and other prominent persons. The contents of the reply will be verified and proved by many Spanish and native witnesses; accordingly, may your Majesty, together with the members of your royal Council, be pleased to provide what is most necessary for the service of your Majesty.
While this ship was on the point of departure, one of two ships which your viceroy Don Martin Enrriquez despatched from Nueva España arrived here, on the fifth of the present month. Through these ships he sends one hundred and fifty soldiers, some married men, and three Augustinian religious. The other ship has not yet arrived. This camp of your Majesty was much pleased at the news of the birth of the new infante. May he rejoice your Majesty for many years.
The officials of your royal exchequer who reside in Mexico write that they are not empowered by your Majesty to provide this camp with some very necessary supplies which were asked from them for this land. May your Majesty be pleased to exercise your accustomed magnanimity, and order them to provide us with what is necessary for your Majesty's service, and for the maintenance of this camp and commonwealth, according to the memorials which the royal officials of these islands shall send to them.
This last ship brought a decree from your Majesty issued at San Lorenço el Real on June fourth, seventy-two. The decree orders me and the officials of your Majesty to send, by the first ships which shall leave this place, a report of your royal exchequer from the time this land was discovered and settled until the day when the report is sent, and to do so at the beginning of every year to come. This order will be heeded and carried out according to the wishes of your Majesty—although, these ships having already departed, we shall not be able to do so until the departure of the others a year from now.
Last year, I wrote to your Majesty that the Indians who were deserting the encomiendas were again being allotted to the Spaniards who serve your Majesty in this camp. The same is being done now, since it is necessary for the service of your Majesty, and the preservation of this land. I beseech your Majesty to favor this measure and to confirm what has been already done, and whatever allotment should be made hereafter; for the soldiers have suffered much, and no day passes away without the death of some one. Unless the land were thus allotted, it would lack means of sustenance.
The office of treasurer, which I filled when Governor Miguel Lopez was alive, is now vacant; and since I sent the factor under arrest to Nueva España, thus leaving here only the accountant, I appointed as treasurer for the proper management of your royal exchequer, Salvador de Aldave, until your Majesty be pleased to provide otherwise. He has served almost a year in the said capacity, with all diligence and care, and he possesses all the qualifications required for such an office. From the time he came here, over seven years ago, he has served your Majesty loyally in the discovery, conquest, and pacification of these islands for more than seven years, namely, from the time of his arrival. He fills the office well, and is worthy of whatever favor your Majesty may be pleased to grant him. May our Lord preserve the sacred Catholic royal person of your Majesty, and add greater realms and seigniories, as we your Majesty's faithful subjects desire. Manila, July 17, 1574. Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty, your loyal subject kisses the royal feet and hands of your Majesty.
Guido de Lavezaris
[Addressed: "To the Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty, the King Don Philipe, our sovereign."]
[Endorsed: "Philipinas, 1574. To His Majesty. From Guido de Labezaris, July 17, 1574." "Let it be made into a relation." "Received, March 7, 1575."]
[Remarks by the council, appended to this letter: Answer that I receive it with gratitude, and that the governor appointed by his Majesty will take account of it, and will reward him according to his services.
Let a decree be sent to the viceroy and officials of Nueva España so that with the money received from here they might supply these islands with the articles which may be requested as necessary for war and other emergencies, according to the memorial which the governor and officials may send. Another decree should be sent also to the governor of these islands charging him to strive most diligently to facilitate commerce, and take care that the moneys belonging to your Majesty be sent to the officials of Nueva España, in order that they may provide the islands with the supplies that will be needed, and which will be requested from here. For the fulfilment of this, orders should be sent to the viceroy and officials.]
[The following letter, dated July 30, of this same year, is identical with the foregoing in almost every word, as far as the twenty-sixth section. The new matter in the second letter is herewith presented.]
26. Up to this point, this letter is a copy of the letter which I wrote to your Majesty by the ship "San Juan." What afterward occurred is, that the said ship left this port on the nineteenth of the present month. May God grant the propitious voyage for which we hope.
27. One of the two ships despatched from Nueva España has not yet arrived, nor do we know anything about it. I have sent men to look for it in two different directions, with the oared boats of these natives. It is thought that the vessel is detained on account of stormy weather, and that with the help of God it will soon be here.
28. On the twenty-fourth of this month, there arrived at this city Captain Pedro de Chaves, who, when Captain Juan de Salcedo returned from the province of Los Camarines, had remained there with men to continue the exploration and pacification still remaining to be carried on. When Captain Juan de Salcedo returned from that province the whole land was quiet and tranquil, and its natives, as well as those of the province of Albay, were reduced to the service of your Majesty. He had also won over the island of Catanduanes five leagues from that coast. The natives of that island were famous sea-pirates, who did much injury wherever they went. The people of that region are well disposed, and possess gold, mines, and plenty of provisions. Now, with God's help, the whole land will be apportioned and distributed among the conquerors of these islands, according to your Majesty's orders. The mines of Paracali, which are a day's journey from Bicor River, will be settled, for they are in a suitable place; and when they are given to the Spaniards and worked by them, the land will increase in population and its commerce will prosper. I have faith in God that from this small beginning He will enlarge and increase the kingdoms and seigniories of your Majesty, and we shall be able to carry the true knowledge of the holy Catholic faith to so many barbarous and blinded men who are found in these regions, including the vast kingdom of China and many others. Heaven has this good fortune in store for your Majesty, so that it may be fulfilled during these propitious times of your Majesty.
29. Accompanying this letter, I send a map of the island of Luçon and of the coast of the mainland of China, from which it appears that, from the coast and great river of Cagayan at the northern extremity of this island to the nearest point of China, it is but a short distance by sea, a matter of forty leagues or thereabout. By next year when we shall have seen and explored more of this land, I shall send your Majesty a fuller description of it than now.
30. I am also sending your Majesty another paper which I received from the Chinese, upon which is printed a map of the whole land of China, with an explanation which I had some Chinese interpreters make, through the aid of an Augustinian religious who is acquainted with the elements of the Chinese language. They have promised me to bring next year other maps drawn in more detail and with more precision; and, God willing, I shall send them to your Majesty.
31. By the ship "Spiritu Santo," now about to sail, I am sending to your Majesty's officials in Mexico eighty quintals of cinnamon and forty-six quintals of wax. For lack of room we have a quantity of cinnamon left over. May our Lord preserve the sacred Catholic royal person of your Majesty with an increase of greater kingdoms and seigniories, according to the desire of your Majesty's faithful subjects. Manila, July 30, 1574.
Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty. His loyal subject and faithful servant kisses the royal feet and hands of Your Majesty. Guido de Lavezaris
[Addressed: "To his Majesty—from the Islands of Luçon."]
[Endorsed: "Guido de Lavezaris. July 30, 1574. Received August 15, 1575. D."]
- ↑ Referring to the birth of a son to Felipe II and Anna of Austria—probably that of Jacobo (or Jaime), born in 1572 or 1573, who died in 1582.
- ↑ The name and title of this commander are, by some lapsus calami, omitted in the MS. The reference, however, is obvious, to Don Juan of Austria, illegitimate son of Cárlos I (but finally publicly acknowledged by him); this prince gained signal renown in wars against the Mahometans.
- ↑ The Rio Grande of Mindanao.
- ↑ The first-born son of Felipe was Fernando, born in 1571; he died at the age of four years.. The town named for him is now called Vigan; it is located on Abra River, and is capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Luzón.
- ↑ Of the decrees here referred to, two may be found in Recopilación de leyes de las Indias (5th ed., Madrid, 1841), lib. viii. One (tit. iv, ley xxiv) provides that vacancies in crown offices shall be filled by the viceroy, or by the president of the Audiencia; the other (tit. x, ley xviii), that gold and silver found in seaports, which has not been duly taxed and stamped, shall, if there be no smelting establishment in such place, be forfeited to the royal treasury.
- ↑ See post, p. 286.